Cytotoxicity, antioxidant activity and an effect on CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 of Mutellina purpurea L. extracts.

Mutellina purpurea is an aromatic Apiaceae plant known as Alpine lovage. Its polar extracts consist of phenolic acids, tannins and flavonoids. The cytotoxic effect of methanolic and aqueous extracts from M. purpurea was studied on the most frequently used cell lines: HeLa and BHK-21. Taking into account that the natural products are often used with other medicines there is a risk of reciprocal interaction on the metabolic level. Thus, the influence of M. purpurea extracts was investigated on the activity of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, which are the most important P450 isoenzymes from the pharmacological and toxicological points of view. Additionally, because M. purpurea contains phenolic compounds, the antioxidative properties of this plant extracts were also studied and compared.