Evaluation of the antioxidants activities of four Slovene medicinal plant species by traditional and novel biosensory assays

We investigated the antioxidant activity of methanolic and water extracts of Slovene accessions of four medicinal plant species ( Salvia officinalis, Achillea millefolium, Origanum vulgare subsp. vulgare and Gentiana lutea). Their free radical-scavenging activity against the DPPH· free radical was studied with a spectrophotometric assay, while their biological activity with the help of a laboratory-made biosensor based on immobilized fibroblast cells (assay duration: 3 min). The observed antioxidant activity of the extracts from the four investigated medicinal plant species was dependent on both the solvent used for extraction and the assay method (conventional or biosensor-based). Independently from the assay method and the solvent used for extraction, the lowest scavenging activity was observed in root extracts of G. lutea. Treatment of the immobilized cells with the plant extracts resulted in an increase of the cell membrane potential (membrane hyperpolarization), possibly due to the reduction of membrane damage due to oxidation. The novel cell biosensor could be utilized as a rapid, high throughput tool for screening the antioxidant properties of plant-derived compounds.