TY  - EJOU
AU  - Ahmad, Sheikh Showkat 
AU  - Garg, Chandni 
AU  - Fouad, Dalia 
AU  - Alredah, Islam Abdulrahim 
AU  - Kaur, Sandeep 
AU  - Kaur, Satwinderjeet 

TI  - Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Potential of Nutrient—Rich <i>Tragopogon dubius</i> Stem and Leaves
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 2025
VL  - 94
IS  - 11
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - The <i>Tragopogon dubius</i> is traditionally used to treat many ailments, consumed as a vegetable, and utilized as fodder for livestock. <i>Tragopogon dubius</i>, 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 IC<sub>50</sub> 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 GI<sub>50</sub> values over 434 μg/mL. Additionally, genoprotective tests showed that AQ-TrDS effectively reduced “H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>”-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 <i>T. dubius</i> leaves and 14 in stems, showing its nutritional value. Overall, these findings highlight the biomedical potential of <i>T. dubius</i> aqueous extracts for developing new pharmaceutical agents.
KW  - Phytochemical profile; antioxidant; anticancer; genoprotective; biomedical

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2025.067984