Phytochemical Screening, Phenolic Content, and Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Foeniculum vulgare Seed Extract

Medicinal plants are promising sources of natural substances with biological functions and several drugs have been developed from traditional medicine. This study aimed to determine the chemical components of a hydromethanolic extract from Foeniculum vulgare seeds. Total phenolic, flavonoid, and flavonol contents were assessed, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was performed. To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of F. vulgare seed hydromethanolic extract, its effects on protein denaturation, protease activity, membrane stabilization, and heat-induced hemolysis in red blood cells were evaluated in vitro. F. vulgare seed extract showed significant inhibition of protein denaturation (35.68±0.4%), protease activity (58.09±0.1%), and heat-induced hemolysis in red blood cells (9.67±0.3%) at concentrations of 200, 250, and 200 μg/mL, respectively, compared to the reference drug indomethacin (P<0.001). This remarkable anti-inflammatory activity may be attributable to the abundance of flavonoids in the F. vulgare seed extract. GC-MS confirmed the presence of linalool and fatty acids (palmitic and oleic acids), which have potential anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, the hydromethanolic extract of F. vulgare seeds may be a valuable anti-inflammatory candidate in the years ahead.