Determining the fatty acid composition and antioxidant activities of Centaurea virgata Lam.

Background and Aims: Centaurea is a significant widespread genus in the Asteraceae family. Türkiye has 194 species, of which 118 are endemic. Free radicals can alter lipids, proteins, and DNA and trigger many diseases. However, a person with an insufficient immune system needs outside assistance to scavenge free radicals. Antioxidants protect the body from oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals. Fats are also very important because they contain fat-soluble vitamins, form lipoproteins with proteins, and affect health. Fatty acids serve as part of molecules in cells or alone as building blocks of cell membranes. They also promote energy and signaling molecules. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have significant antioxidant activity. Studies are found showing PUFAs to be able to be used as a preservative in foods. These effects are due to phenolic hydroxyl groups. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the fatty acid profile of C. virgata to determine the fatty acid content and examine the antioxidant activities related to major fatty acids.Methods: Gas chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses were carried out to determine the fatty acid content. Furthermore, the in vitro antioxidant activities of methanol extract were determined using DPPH (2, 2’-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS(2,2’-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt) radical scavenging and the reducing power assay methods. The program IBM SPSS Statistics (ver. 25) was used to evaluate antioxidant activities.Results: C. virgata’s major components were found to be palmitic acid (30.13%), oleic acid (9.17%), and linoleic acid (11.64%). The DPPH results indicated the IC50 value of the methanol extract to be 378.86 ± 0.60 μg/mL, while ABTS was found to be 19.38 ± 0.49 μg/mL. The results from the reducing power assay found the absorbance of ascorbic acid to be 0.55 at a 100 μg/mL concentration and it measure 0.12 in C. virgata.Conclusion: According to the evaluation results, harmony is seen to exist between the groups regarding the activities