Exploring Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of Polyphenolic Compounds from Indigenous Herbs

Because people are becoming more interested in plant-based medicines, researchers are looking more closely at the bioactive components in medicinal herbs, especially polyphenols, because they may have antioxidant and anticancer effects. The goal of this study was to look into the antioxidant and anticancer properties of polyphenolic chemicals taken from some native herbs using established in vitro methodologies. We did methanolic and hydroethanolic extractions, then we measured the total phenolic and flavonoid content, the antioxidant activity using the DPPH and ABTS assays, and the cytotoxicity using the MTT assay on the MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines. Herb C had the highest total phenolic (168 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (96 mg QE/g) content of the samples examined. It also had the strongest antioxidant and anticancer activity, with IC₅₀ values close to those of normal ascorbic acid and a considerable decrease in cell viability. One-way ANOVA statistical analysis showed that the differences that were seen were significant (p < 0.05). The results show that native herbs can be used to treat diseases and may also be useful in making natural antioxidants and cancer-fighting drugs.