Lipophilic components and evaluation of the cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of Impatiens glandulifera Royle and Impatiens noli - tangere L. (Balsaminaceae)

Abstract

The chemical composition of the lipophilic fractions of Impatiens glandulifera Royle and I. noli-tangere L. were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)., The study focused on the fatty acids, triterpenoids and sterols in the leaves, roots and seeds. Most of the identified compounds are new for these species. a-linolenic, oleic and palmitic acids were the most abundant in the fatty acid fractions, β-amyrin and 5a-lup-20(29)-en-3β-ol in the triterpenoid fractions, and β-sitosterol, spinasterol and chondrillasterol in the sterol fractions. The fatty acid and triterpenoid fractions showed strong antioxidant activity, similar to positive controls. Moreover, the triterpenoid fraction from I. noli-tangere seeds significantly inhibited HL-60 human leukemia cells. Other fractions showed moderate cytotoxicity. The present study suggests that I. glandulifera and I. noli-tangere are good source of omega-3 fatty acids, and they might be considered as antioxidant and chemopreventive agents.