EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIACETYLCHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITIES OF THE EXTRACTS OF PISTACIA ATLANTICA DESF. LEAVES

Abstract

Pistacia atlantica Desf. (Anacardiaceae), a tree that is widely distributed in the Marmara, Mediterranean and Central Anatolia regions of Turkey, has been utilized traditionally for culinary and medicinal purposes. In the present study, methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts were prepared from young leaves of P. atlantica Desf., which were collected during the spring, and their antioxidant, scavenging, chelating and anti-acetylcholinesterase activities were evaluated. Both of the extracts showed strong antioxidant activity compared to synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene and alpha-tocopherol whereas they exhibited relatively lower level of anti-acetylcholinesterase activity. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effect of the ethylacetate extract was higher than the inhibitory effect of the methanolic extract. Therefore, the extracts of the young leaves of P. atlantica Desf. might be a potential antioxidant supplement for food and pharmaceutical products. It might also be used to stabilize the foods against oxidative deterioration.