Chemical Composition, Biological and Cytotoxic Activities of Plant Extracts and Compounds Isolated from Ferula lutea

The present work describes the phytochemical study on Ferula lutea flowers. Total phenolics and flavonoids of the n-butanol and ethyl acetate extracts were quantified (phenolics [40.68–52.29 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of dry weight], flavonoids [12.38–14.72 mg quercitin/g dry weight]). Two diastereoisomers were isolated and identified using spectroscopic techniques (1D, 2D NMR and GC-MS). The extracts and diastereoisomers were tested for antioxidant, antiacetylcholinesterase, antimicrobial, antidiabectic, cytotoxic (leukemia cell line) activities and allelopathic potentialities. The strongest antioxidant activity was obtained for the ethyl acetate extract (IC(50) = 12.8 ± 1.29 µg/mL). The two extracts exhibited high antidiabetic activity (54.1 and 52.1% at 40 µg/mL).