Chemical Profile, Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activities of Genista januensis subsp. lydia (Boiss.) Kit Tan & Ziel (Fabaceae)

The aim of this study was to investigate the anticancer and antioxidant activities of Genista januensis subsp. lydia (Fabaceae) extracts and to isolate the phytochemical compounds responsible for these activities. The G. januensis plant was extracted by maceration with solvents of increasing polarity. The total phenolic/flavonoid content, antioxidant activities and anticancer activity were investigated by performing cytotoxicity, apoptosis and cell cycle analyses in crude extracts. We found that the EtOAc extract had the highest antioxidant and anticancer activities and this extract was selected for isolation studies. All purified flavonoid compounds from the EtOAc extract were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic methods and compared with the literature. A new biflavonoid 4 was isolated together with three known isoflavonoids (genistein (1), genistin (2) and 4'-hydroxyisoflavone (3)) from Genista januensis subsp. lydia (Fabaceae). MTT analysis of compounds 2, 3, and 4 was used to evaluate the anticancer activity. Compound 4 was invesigated for its antioxidant activities. These findings suggest that G. januensis subsp. lydia represents new potential natural sources of effective antiproliferative and antioxidant agents.