Cholinesterase and tyrosinase inhibitory, and antioxidant potential of randomly selected Umbelliferous plant species and the chromatographic profile of Heracleum platytaenium Boiss. and Angelica sylvestris L. var. sylvestris

The neurobiological activity of the methanol extracts of thirteen Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) plants was tested against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and tyrosinase (TYR) using a high-throughput screening technique. Although the extracts displayed no to a low inhibition profile against the enzymes, the highest cholinesterase inhibition was observed with Heracleum platytaenium (32.52 +/- 3.27 % for AChE and 46.16 +/- 1.42 % for BChE) at 100 mu g mL(-1). Since neurodegeneration is linked to oxidative damage, the antioxidant potential of the extracts were examined through radical scavenging, metal-chelating capacity, and reducing power experiments and they exerted modest levels of activity varying according to the method. The extracts had a better ability to scavenge the nitric oxide radical (19.47 +/- 2.09 to 54.91 +/- 1.98 %). Since these species are known to be rich in coumarins, quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis indicated the presence of xanthotoxin, angelicin, isopimpinellin, bergapten, and pimpinellin in Heracleum platytaenium and angelicin and imperatorin in Angelica sylvestris var. sylvestris.