Antioxidative and antiproliferative activities of different horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) extracts

In this study we investigated antioxidative and antiproliferative activity of different horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) extracts. The antioxidative activity was measured by the electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy–spin trapping method. The influence of different horsetail extracts during lipid peroxidation of (1) sunflower oil induced by the lipophilic azo-initiator 4,4'-azobis(4-cyanovaleric acid) and (2) soybean phosphatidylcholine liposomes induced by the hydrophilic azo-initiator 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride was studied. Antiproliferative activity was measured using the sulforhodamine B colorimetric assay on the human cancer cell lines HeLa, HT-29, and MCF7. The results of ESR analysis confirmed that the extracts investigated suppressed the formation of lipid peroxyl radicals in both systems investigated in a dose-dependent manner. The results indicate that n-butanol, methanol, ethyl acetate, and water extracts had significant peroxyl radical scavenging activity. Extracts inhibited cell growth that was dependent on cell line, type of extract, and extract concentration. Ethyl acetate extract exhibited the most prominent antiproliferative effect, without inducing any cell growth stimulation on human tumor cell lines. The results obtained suggest that the horsetail extracts could be used as an easily accessible source of natural antioxidants and as potential phytochemicals.