Open Access

ARTICLE

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Potential of Nutrient—Rich Tragopogon dubius Stem and Leaves

Sheikh Showkat Ahmad¹, Chandni Garg¹, Dalia Fouad², Islam Abdulrahim Alredah³, Sandeep Kaur⁴, Satwinderjeet Kaur^1,*

1 Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, 143005, Punjab, India
2 Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 22452, Riyadh, 11495, Saudi Arabia
3 Central Research Laboratory, Department of Medical Research on Experimental Animals, King Saud University, P.O. Box 22452, Riyadh, 11495, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of Biosciences, University Centre for Research and Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali, 140413, Punjab, India

* Corresponding Author: Satwinderjeet Kaur. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Linking the Gap Between Properties, Compounds and Cropping Strategy)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(11), 3401-3426. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.067984

Received 18 May 2025; Accepted 23 September 2025; Issue published 01 December 2025

Abstract

The Tragopogon dubius is traditionally used to treat many ailments, consumed as a vegetable, and utilized as fodder for livestock. Tragopogon dubius, found in the Kashmir Himalayas, is the least explored for its bioactivity properties and has a unique geographical location. This study is the first attempt to investigate the antioxidant, anticancer, and genoprotective properties of the aqueous extracts from the leaves (AQ-TrDL) and stems (AQ-TrDS) of this plant. AQ-TrDL and AQ-TrDS demonstrated significant amounts of phenolic and flavonoid contents. GC-HRMS identified various phytochemicals belonging to different classes, like carboxylic acids, fatty acid derivatives, phenols, and triterpenoids. DPPH, Superoxide, FRAP, and ABTS antioxidant assays showed that AQ-TrDS exhibited stronger radical scavenging activities than AQ-TrDL, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 40.31 to 73.58 μg/mL. Cytotoxicity tests revealed that AQ-TrDS significantly inhibited the growth of cancer cells in MCF-7, HCT-116, HeLa, and A-549 cell lines, with over 50% inhibition observed at concentrations ranging from 56.62 to 98.32 μg/mL. Importantly, minimal effects were seen in normal fibroblast L-929 cells, with GI₅₀ values over 434 μg/mL. Additionally, genoprotective tests showed that AQ-TrDS effectively reduced “H₂O₂”-induced DNA damage in lymphocytes, decreasing damage by up to 61.18% at a concentration of 320 μg/mL. HPLC analysis of amino acids identified 10 amino acids in T. dubius leaves and 14 in stems, showing its nutritional value. Overall, these findings highlight the biomedical potential of T. dubius aqueous extracts for developing new pharmaceutical agents.

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