# Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Antidiabetic and Cytotoxic Activity of _Crocus sativus_ L. Petals
## 5 Discussion  
_C. sativus_ L. is an important medicinal food plant which is widely cultivated in different parts of the globe for nutritional and economic purposes [34]. Literature survey revealed that different solvent extracts and isolated compounds of _C. sativus_ L. stigma and corn have demonstrated various pharmacological effects. However, very less research has been done on the petals [35]. As a result, three different extracts were derived from the petals of _C. sativus_ L in the current study and they have all been evaluated for their biological activity, i.e., antioxidant, antidiabetic and antimicrobial activity. Flavonoids are a category of natural compounds with different phenolic structures that are present in plants, are essential due to various their capacity to act as antioxidants [36; 37]. Phenolic compounds are present widely in the kingdom of flora and are reported to be strong antioxidant [38]. Recent studies have shown that phenolic compositions have a possible protective role against oxidative ailments [39]. Phenolic compounds will transfer hydrogen to free radicals to avoid the lipid oxidation chain reaction at the initial stage. The capacity of phenolic compounds to scavenge radicals is due to the effects of their phenolic hydroxyl groups [40; 41]. The total phenolic and flavonoid content observed in our study are compatible with [PERSON] et al., which showed that the _C. sativus_ stigma possessed higher phenolic, flavonoid content and consequently higher antioxidant activity as compared to _C. sativus_ petals [42]. Many earlier reports have showed significant correlation among total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. In this analysis, we used the DPPH and ABTS assay simply to verify that the extracts demonstrate antioxidant activity, and in future detailed studies. DPPH and ABTS assays have been the most specific tests used to assess the radical scavenging potential of different compounds because it has the ability to donate hydrogen to free radicals. The mechanism behind it's radical scavenging properties is due to a combination of flavonoids and phenolic acids, most of which are weak in nature, and thus act as competent electron donors capable of reacting with O\({}^{2-}\) depends entirely on the substitution in the phenolic ring. Our results are in line with the earlier report by [PERSON] et al., _C. sativus_ petals exhibits less antioxidant activity than stigma but higher than corn with a rise in the concentration of the extract [43]. From the FTIR spectroscopic analysis of _C. sativus_, the presence of flavonoid, phenolic, esters, aromatic and aliphatic peaks were found in all extracts, whereas in SPE the flavonoid and phenolic presence is more than SPD and SPE [44]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Extracts**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**IC\({}_{50}\) (mg/mL)**} \\ \cline{2-4}  & **24 h** & **48 h** & **72 h** \\ \hline SPH & \(110.56\pm 1.67\) \({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) & \(56.65\pm 1.22\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) & \(39.12\pm 1.45\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) \\ SPD & \(71.29\pm 0.87\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) & \(40.43\pm 1.02\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) & \(22.64\pm 1.33\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) \\ SPE & \(35.12\pm 1.56\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) & \(19.35\pm 1.54\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) & \(12.98\pm 2.53\)\({}^{\text{\textregistered}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Mean values with different signs within the same column are statistically different (n = 3; # \(<\) 0.05; @ \(p<0.01\), * \(p<0.001\) vs. control, [PERSON]’s multiple range tests).  
\end{table} 
Table 4: In vitro growth inhibitory activity (IC\({}_{50}\) mg/mL) of extracts of on MDA-MB-231 cell lines after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h of exposure. Similar results have been documented in earlier studies of antimicrobial effects of different extracts/fraction of _C. sativus_[26; 45; 46]. Petal extracts were found to be more effective at the lowest concentration against pathogenic bacterial strains. Both _P. aeruginosa_ and _S.