Native plants in Serbia – Opportunity for new functional foods and herbal drug

Scientific research confirmed a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities for a variety of natural products. However many of them exhibit some of the unwanted side effects and drug interactions. It is therefore necessary to conduct complex investigations, which will serve as a scientific ground for application of certain plant products in producing new drugs or dietary supplements. Here we report on the phytochemical and biochemical study of the several wild growing plant species belonging to the Plantaginaceae, Polygonaceae, Cupressaceae, Alliacae families, with respect to their antioxidant and antiinflamatory activities. Most of plants were investigated for the first time. Especially attention was devoted towards the plants that can be used in diet, serving as the functional food, likewise are species of genus Rumex, Polygonum, Plantago, Juniperus. LC-MS/MS and GC-MS technique was applied to evaluate chemical profile. Antioxidant potential was determined using various assays related to free radical (DPPH^·), reactive oxygen (HO^·, O₂ ^·-) and reactive nitrogen species (NO^·) scavenging ability, as well as lipid peroxidation (LP) and reducing power (FRAP assay). Anti-inflammatory activity was determined by means of inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX), enzymes involved in metabolism of arachidonic acid. The results obtained show that many of explored native plants has significant antioxidant and antiinflamatory activity, which is often associated with the high content of phenolic compounds. In conclusion, this study strongly supports exploration of nature as a source of novel herbal medicine and food with desired health benefits.