Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of Cow's Milk Supplemented with Aqueous Extract of Malva Sylvestris

Abstract

Cow's milk is known for its beneficial properties for health, added to this, scientific research is increasingly interested in molecules from medicinal plants. The objective of this study is to evaluate some of the biological activities resulting from the association of cow's milk and the aqueous extract of leaves of malva sylvestris L, a medicinal plant of the traditional pharmacopoeia of Algeria. The combination produced showed appreciable antioxidant activity. Its capacity to trap the DPPH radical, the OH radical and H2O2 was respectively estimated by an IC50 of 5.215 ± 0.759 µg/ml, 381.44 ± 37.12 µg/ml and 205.52 ± 12.03 µg/ml. The milk associated with the plant presented an IC50 for its total antioxidant capacity of 362.90 ± 7.04 µg/ml and of 211.02 ± 35.27 µg/ml for its reducing power of the ferric ion. The assessment of the antioxidant capacity of this association was also carried out by the β-carotene bleaching inhibition test where we recorded an inhibition of 83.93 ± 4.82% of the extract at a concentration of 1mg/ml and the ferrous ion chelation test estimated by an IC50 of 506.84 ± 54.50µg/ml. With regard to anti-inflammatory activity, the cow's milk studied showed a stabilizing effect on erythrocyte membranes against osmotic stress (79.71 ± 3.81%), oxidant stress induced by HOCL (80.32 ± 0.92%) and heat (90.1 ± 3.05%). The sum of the results obtained during this study clearly shows that the combination of cow's milk and the aqueous extract of malva sylvestris leaves has significant potential for the biological activities investigated. As a result, this association constitutes a potential source of bioactive molecules and thus constitutes a therapeutic alternative to the treatment of a number of pathologies initiated by oxidative stress.