Assessment of the antioxidant and antimutagenic activity of extracts from goji berry of Greek cultivation

The aim of this study was to assess the antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of ultrasound assisted aqueous extracts from dry goji berry fruits cultivated in Greece. The extracts’ free radical scavenging activity was assessed by the DPPH· and ABTS·+ assays. The results from both assays demonstrated that the extracts exhibited strong radical scavenging activity with IC50 values ranging from 1.29 to 3.00 mg/ml for DPPH· and from 0.39 to 1.10 mg/mL for ABTS·+ assay. The investigated extracts also inhibited free radical-induced DNA damage induced by peroxyl (ROO·) radicals with IC50 ranging from 0.69 to 6.90 mg/mL. Τhe antioxidant activity of the goji berry extract exhibited the highest potency in the above assays was also examined in muscle cells. In particular, muscle C2C12 cells were treated with the selected extract at non cytotoxic concentrations for 24 h and four oxidative stress markers were measured: total reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl levels. The results showed that the extract at 25 and 100 μg/mL increased GSH levels up to 189.5% and decreased lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyls by 21.8 and 29.1% respectively. The present study was the first on the antioxidant effects of ultrasound assisted aqueous extracts from goji berry fruits in muscle cells. Keywords: Goji berry, Antioxidant, Polyphenols, Muscle cells, Glutathione, Lipid peroxidation, Protein oxidatio