Find in Library

<i>Taraxacum officinale</i> (<i>TO</i>) has been historically used for medicinal purposes due to its biological activity against specific disorders. To investigate the antioxidant and the antiproliferativepotential of <i>TO</i> essential oil in vitro and in vivo, the chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by GC-MS. The in vivo antioxidant capacity was assessed on liver and kidney homogenate samples from mice subjected to acetaminophen-induced oxidative stress and treated with <i>TO</i> essential oil (600 and 12,000 mg/kg BW) for 14 days. The in vitro scavenging activity was assayed using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and the reducing power methods. The cytotoxic effects against the HeLa cancer cell line were analyzed. The GC-MS analysis showed the presence of <b>34</b> compounds, <b>8</b> of which were identified as major constituents. The <i>TO</i> essential oil protected mice’s liver and kidneys from acetaminophen-induced oxidative stress by enhancing antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione) and lowering malondialdehyde levels. In vitro, the <i>TO</i> essential oil demonstrated low scavenging activity against DPPH (IC₅₀ = 2.00 ± 0.05 mg/mL) and modest reducing power (EC₅₀ = 0.963 ± 0.006 mg/mL). The growth of the HeLa cells was also reduced by the <i>TO</i> essential oil with an inhibition rate of 83.58% at 95 µg/mL. Current results reveal significant antioxidant and antiproliferative effects in a dose-dependent manner and suggest that <i>Taraxacum officinale</i> essential oil could be useful in formulations for cancer therapy.