{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:05:51Z","timestamp":1790640351312,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,29]],"date-time":"2020-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1580256000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antioxidants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>(1) Carthamus Tinctorius L. (safflower) is extensively used in traditional herbal medicine. (2) The aim of this study was to investigate the bioactive properties of polyphenol extracts from flowers of Carthamus Tinctorius (CT) cultivated in Italy. We also evaluated the properties of two bioactive water-soluble flavonoid compounds, hydroxy safflor yellow A (HSYA) and safflor yellow A (SYA), contained in Carthamus Tinctorius petals. (3) The total polyphenol content was 3.5 \u00b1 0.2 g gallic acid equivalent (GAE)\/100 g, flavonoids content was 330 \u00b1 23 mg catechin equivalent (CE)\/100 g in the flowers. The extract showed a high antioxidant activity evaluated by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assays. In addition, flower extract, SYA, and HSYA were able to reduce the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein to copper-induced lipid peroxidation. In order to investigate the bioactive properties of flower extract, SYA, and HSYA we also studied their modulatory effect of oxidative stress on human dermal fibroblasts (HuDe) oxidized by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH). The CT extract at concentrations ranging from 0.01\u201320 \u03bcg GAE\/mL of polyphenols, exerted a protective effect against t-BOOH triggered oxidative stress. At higher concentration the extract exerted a pro-oxidant effect. Similar results have been obtained using HSYA and SYA. (4) These results demonstrate a biphasic effect exerted by HSYA, SYA, and flower extracts on oxidative stress.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antiox9020119","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,29]],"date-time":"2020-01-29T10:51:07Z","timestamp":1580295067000},"page":"119","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":58,"title":["Antioxidant and Pro-Oxidant Properties of Carthamus Tinctorius, Hydroxy Safflor Yellow A, and Safflor Yellow A"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3346-9588","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiziana","family":"Bacchetti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Camilla","family":"Morresi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luisa","family":"Bellachioma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gianna","family":"Ferretti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"369","article-title":"The central analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanolic extract of Carthamus oxycantha","volume":"64","author":"Bukhari","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Physiol. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6672","DOI":"10.19082\/6672","article-title":"Medical uses of Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower): A comprehensive review from Traditional Medicine to Modern Medicine","volume":"10","author":"Delshad","year":"2018","journal-title":"Electron. Physician."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jep.2013.10.050","article-title":"Towards a better understanding of medicinal uses of Carthamus tinctorius L. in traditional Chinese medicine: A phytochemical and pharmacological review","volume":"151","author":"Zhou","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Ethnopharmacol."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"71","article-title":"(Carthamus tinctorius L.) seeds. Antioxidant properties and quantification of phenolic compounds from safflower","volume":"16","author":"Kim","year":"2007","journal-title":"Food Sci. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4455","DOI":"10.1021\/jf1049936","article-title":"Variation in phenolic composition and antioxidant activity during flower development of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)","volume":"59","author":"Salem","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1244","DOI":"10.1002\/jssc.200500001","article-title":"Separation and determination of chalcones from Carthamus tinctorius L. and its medicinal preparation by capillary zone electrophoresis","volume":"28","author":"Jiang","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Sep. Sci."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2268","DOI":"10.1007\/s11064-013-1135-8","article-title":"Hydroxysafflor yellow A protects against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by anti-apoptotic effect through PI3K\/Akt\/GSK3beta pathway in rat","volume":"38","author":"Chen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Neurochem. Res."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1002\/jsfa.4172","article-title":"Protective effect of dried safflower petal aqueous extract and its main constituent, carthamus yellow, against lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in RAW264.7 macrophages","volume":"91","author":"Wang","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Sci. Food Agric."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"572","article-title":"Effect of hydroxy safflor Yellow A on the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells with the stimulus of tumor cell conditioned medium","volume":"24","author":"Wang","year":"2009","journal-title":"CJTCMP"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"429","DOI":"10.1055\/s-2003-39714","article-title":"Neuroprotective effects of hydroxysafflor yellow A: In vivo and in vitro studies","volume":"69","author":"Zhu","year":"2003","journal-title":"Planta Med."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neulet.2005.05.069","article-title":"Hydroxysafflor yellow A protects rat brains against ischemia-reperfusion injury by antioxidant action","volume":"386","author":"Wei","year":"2005","journal-title":"Neurosci. Lett."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"803","DOI":"10.12659\/MSM.905587","article-title":"Hydroxysafflor-Yellow A Induces Human Gastric Carcinoma BGC-823 Cell Apoptosis by Activating Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma (PPARgamma)","volume":"24","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Med. Sci. Monit."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbrc.2018.09.036","article-title":"Hydroxysafflor yellow A attenuates high glucose-induced pancreatic \u03b2-cells oxidative damage via inhibiting JNK\/c-jun signaling pathway","volume":"505","author":"Zhao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1038\/aps.2012.185","article-title":"Safflor yellow A protects neonatal rat cardiomyocytes against anoxia\/reoxygenation injury in vitro","volume":"34","author":"Duan","year":"2013","journal-title":"Acta Pharmacol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1016\/j.abb.2008.01.028","article-title":"Are polyphenols antioxidants or pro-oxidants? What do we learn from cell culture and in vivo studies?","volume":"476","author":"Halliwell","year":"2008","journal-title":"Arch. Biochem. Biophys."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"371","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bcp.2015.07.017","article-title":"Pro-oxidant activity of polyphenols and its implication on cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy","volume":"98","author":"Auger","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biochemical. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2157","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lfs.2003.09.047","article-title":"Antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of 112 traditional Chinese medicinal plants associated with anticancer","volume":"74","author":"Cai","year":"2004","journal-title":"Life Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"875","DOI":"10.1038\/nprot.2007.102","article-title":"Estimation of total phenolic content and other oxidation substrates in plant tissues using Folin\u2013Ciocalteu reagent","volume":"2","author":"Ainsworth","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nat. Protoc."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6509","DOI":"10.1021\/jf0343074","article-title":"Quantification of polyphenolics and their antioxidant capacity in fresh plums","volume":"51","author":"Kim","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"867","DOI":"10.1038\/nprot.2007.100","article-title":"Rapid measurement of total antioxidant capacity in plants","volume":"2","author":"Gillespie","year":"2007","journal-title":"Nat. Protoc."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1386","DOI":"10.1089\/jmf.2009.0024","article-title":"Influence of the target molecule on the oxygen radical absorbance capacity index: A comparison between alizarin red- and fluorescein-based methodologies","volume":"12","author":"Martin","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Med. Food"},{"key":"ref_22","first-page":"25","article-title":"Use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity","volume":"28","author":"Cuvelier","year":"1995","journal-title":"Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1016\/0076-6879(86)28068-4","article-title":"Single vertical spin density gradient ultracentrifugation","volume":"128","author":"Chung","year":"1986","journal-title":"Methods Enzymol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"203","DOI":"10.1016\/0022-1759(93)90088-O","article-title":"An improved MTT assay","volume":"157","author":"Sladowski","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Immunol. Methods"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1016\/0022-1759(88)90310-9","article-title":"A quick and simple method for the quantitation of lactate dehydrogenase release in measurements of cellular cytotoxicity and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity","volume":"115","author":"Decker","year":"1988","journal-title":"J. Immunol. Methods"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"612","DOI":"10.1016\/S0891-5849(99)00107-0","article-title":"Quantifying cellular oxidative stress by dichlorofluorescein assay using microplate reader","volume":"27","author":"Wang","year":"1999","journal-title":"Free Radic. Biol. Med."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1016\/0891-5849(92)90181-F","article-title":"The role of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants in oxidative modification of LDL","volume":"13","author":"Esterbauer","year":"1992","journal-title":"Free Radic. Biol. Med."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2754","DOI":"10.2174\/1381612823666170329142936","article-title":"The Potential Protective Effects of Phenolic Compounds against Low-density Lipoprotein Oxidation","volume":"23","author":"Amarowicz","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr. Pharm. Des."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1007\/s11883-017-0678-6","article-title":"Oxidative Stress in Atherosclerosis","volume":"19","author":"Kattoor","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr. Atheroscler. Rep."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4970","DOI":"10.1021\/jf060254p","article-title":"Serotonin derivatives, major safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed antioxidants, inhibit low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice","volume":"54","author":"Koyama","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6020","DOI":"10.3390\/nu6126020","article-title":"Resources and biological activities of natural polyphenols","volume":"6","author":"Li","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nutrients"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3109\/10715769009148569","article-title":"How to characterize a biological antioxidant","volume":"9","author":"Halliwell","year":"1990","journal-title":"Free Radic. Res. Commun."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"572","DOI":"10.1016\/S0955-2863(02)00208-5","article-title":"Flavonoid antioxidants: Chemistry, metabolism and structure-activity relationships","volume":"13","author":"Heim","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Nutr. Biochem."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1701","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbamcr.2007.10.001","article-title":"Regulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation through cell signaling","volume":"1773","author":"Huttemann","year":"2007","journal-title":"Biochim. Biophys. Acta"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3597","DOI":"10.1021\/jf000220w","article-title":"Assessing antioxidant and prooxidant activities of phenolic compounds","volume":"48","author":"Fukumoto","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."}],"container-title":["Antioxidants"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3921\/9\/2\/119\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T08:53:02Z","timestamp":1760172782000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-3921\/9\/2\/119"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,29]]},"references-count":35,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,2]]}},"alternative-id":["antiox9020119"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/antiox9020119","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-3921"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-3921","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,29]]}}}