CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE DIETHYL ETHER EXTRACT OF WILD SONCHUS ASPER AND SONCHUS OLERACEUS GROWING IN LIBYA

Fouad Ibrahim, Mohamed H. M. Abed El-Azim*, Ahmida Mohamed and Wesam A. Kollab

Twelve compounds were identified from Sonchus asper by using GC-Mass spectroscopy, the main constituents were found to be Phytol 33.89 % and trans-anethole 20.22 %. While, eighteen compounds were identified from Sonchus oleraceus, among them Ethyl linoleate 43.05 %, (E)-9-Octadecenoic acid ethyl ester 24.02 % were found to represent the major constituents. Anti-tumor activity of the two Sonchus species showed that Sonchus oleraceus has a moderate inhibition with Hep-G2 and HCT-116 cells, while Sonchus asper has low inhibition against all cells (Hep-G2, HCT-116 and MCF-7). The antioxidant activity of Sonchus oleraceus showed a relatively strong antioxidant scavenging affinity against DPPH radicals.