Aristolochia clematitis L. Ethanolic Extracts: In Vitro Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxicity on Caco-2 Cell Line

<i>Aristolochia</i> sp. plants are used in traditional medicine because of their immunostimulatory and anticarcinogenic properties, despite their content of aristolochic acids (AAs), carcinogenic and nephrotoxic agents. Therefore, ethanolic extracts of <i>Aristolochia clematitis</i> leaves, a specie growing in Western Romania, were obtained to study antioxidant and cytotoxic effects. The antioxidant capacity of the extract was evaluated by five in vitro chemical-based assays, proving that ABTS assay was a better method for this type of evaluation showing an IC₅₀ of 160.89 ± 0.21 µg/mL. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effects of the extract were established by an IC₅₀ of 216 µg/mL for 24 h by MTT assay, followed by a cell-based assay on Caco-2 cells by the ABTS method. The antioxidant effects of the <i>A. clematitis</i> extract demonstrate potential therapeutic applications in complementary medicine.