Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Frankenia triandra (J. Rémy) extracts

• Hydroalcoholic extracts of Frankenia triandra exhibited a similar phytochemical composition.
• Both extracts exhibited an important antioxidant activity.
• F. triandra extracts showed a significant inhibition of pro-inflammatory enzymes.
• This shows the potential use of F. triandra in the treatment of inflammation and as antioxidant.

Frankenia triandra (Frankeniaceae) is a poorly studied halophyte subshrub species that grows on saline soils in the Bolivian, Argentinean and Chilean Puna, and is used by Puna inhabitants as forage and antiseptic in their folk medicine. The aim of this work is to first evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential (inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory enzymes) of two hydroalcoholic extracts of F. triandra obtained by maceration and soxhlet extraction. Both extracts showed similar biological activity and composition (mainly polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids and phenolic acids). They exhibited an important antioxidant activity by scavenging ABTS+ and nitrite radicals, by inhibiting β-carotene bleaching and reducing Fe3+. Antioxidant properties are related to anti-inflammatory capacity, and both extracts showed a significant inhibition of hyaluronidase and two enzymes of arachidonic acid pathway (cyclooxygenase-2 and lipoxygenase). These preliminary studies are interesting since they might open the way for further studies which would allow the potential use of this plant in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases and as an antioxidant agent.