Inhibitory effect of Lavandula viridis on Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation, antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase properties

In this research, the total phenolic content of a Lavandula viridis methanol extract was evaluated and the phenolic identification and quantification was assessed. Rosmarinic acid and luteolin-7-O-glucoside were the two major compounds identified by HPLC–DAD (ca. 39 and 13 g/kg, respectively). This extract showed a strong antioxidant activity in ORAC (2858.39 ± 70.97 lmolTE/gextract) and TEAC (967.18 ± 22.57 lmolTE/gextract) assays, as well as Fe2+ chelating and OH scavenging abilities. Furthermore, the extract prevented Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation, by reducing MDA content in mouse brains(in vitro), and inhibited AChE and BChE activities both in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate that the methanol extract from L. viridis is a potential source of natural antioxidants and cholinesterase inhibitors.P. Costa and S. Gonçalves acknowledge a grant from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (SFRH/BD/63505/2009 and SFRH/BPD/31534/2006, respectively