Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of the Wild Edible Pimpinella brachycarpa (Kom.) Nakai

Pimpinella brachycarpa (Kom. Nakai) is one of the most favored wild vegetables in Asian regions. In the present study, a series of solvent fractions of Pimpinella brachycarpa were evaluated for their Total Phenolic Content (TPC), Total Flavonoid (TFC) content, antioxidant capacity and cytotoxic activity against Bel-7404 cancer cell line. PBbu had the highest TPC of 29.0567±0.27014 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of extract and PBet had the highest TFC of 872.422±12.0185 μg of quercetin equivalents/g of extract. There was a significantly high correlation between DPPH radical scavenging activity with TPC and ABTS-+ Radical Scavenging Activity with TFC. While a poor correlation between cytotoxicity with TPC or TFC was obtained. Among the four solvent fractions, PBpe showed the most potent cytotoxic activity. The results indicated that the solvent fractions from Pimpinella brachycarpa have potent health benefit effects, thus can be used as a dietary source for functional food.