Chemical examination of phenolic profile, antioxidant and antitumor activity of galangal and ginger extracts

This study inspects the phenolic profile, antioxidant, and antitumor activities of galangal ginger and extracts. In vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated using three methods: reducing power assay, phosphomolybdenum antioxidant power assay, and DPPH free radical inhibition. The total phenolic content (TPC) ranged from 59.71 ± 0.39 to 467.59 ± 1.72 mg gallic acid equivalent (mg GAE)/g dry weight (D.W.), while the total flavonoid content (TFC) ranged from 9.7 ± 0.04 to 97.61 ± 0.96 mg quercetin equivalent (mg QE)/g D.W. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) identified and quantified 19 phenolic compounds, including 9 phenolic acids, two components of other phenols and 8 flavonoids. Ellagic acid was the most abundant phenolic compound value of 432.52 μg g-1 in ginger and 1848.60 μg g-1 in galangal. Rutin being the dominant flavonoid in galangal. The Me-OH extract from ginger exhibited the highest antioxidant activity compared to its MC and EtoAc fractions. Both ginger and galangal methanolic extracts showed significant cytotoxic effects against breast carcinoma (MCF7), hepatocellular carcinoma (HePG2), and colon (HCT116) cell lines at concentrations ranging from 50 to 400 μg mL-1. These results indicate that ginger and galangal extracts are promising natural sources of bioactive compounds with potential antioxidant and antitumor properties.