International Conference on Frontiers of Cancer Biology and Biotechnology for Next-Gen Innovation (ICFBNI) - 2025

Rosa damascena (Damask rose) is a common medicinal herb prized for its fragrance and its therapeutic activities in traditional medicine. The current preliminary study sought to investigate the phytochemical composition of R. damascena. Phytochemical screening of the plant extract was carried out using four different solvents: water, ethyl acetate, methanol, and chloroform. The qualitative analysis revealed the presence of various bioactive compounds known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potentials. Tannins were detected in the aqueous, ethyl acetate, and methanolic extracts, but were absent in the chloroform extract. Glycosides, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, and saponins were not detected in any of the solvent extracts. Volatile oils were present only in the chloroform extract, while steroids were observed exclusively in the ethyl acetate extract. This study evaluated the antioxidant activity of different solvent extracts using various in vitro assays compared with standard antioxidants. The assays were performed at concentrations of 0–250 $\mu\text{g/mL}$. The $\text{IC}_{50}$ values obtained were 70.718 $\mu\text{g/mL}$ for the SOD assay (water extract), 77.78 $\mu\text{g/mL}$ for the hydroxyl radical scavenging assay (ethyl acetate extract), 235.158 $\mu\text{g/mL}$ for the $\text{H}_2\text{O}_2$ assay (methanol extract), 105.262 $\mu\text{g/mL}$ for the DPPH assay (methanol extract), 71.496 $\mu\text{g/mL}$ for the ABTS assay (methanol extract), and 57.073 $\mu\text{g/mL}$ for the NO assay (Chloroform extract). Initial in-vitro results indicate that R. damascena extracts possess high antioxidant activity and moderate cholinesterase inhibitory action, which could find a potential therapeutic use in the retardation of cognitive decline while the result look promising, clinical trials are needed to validate the efficacy and safety of R. damascena or its nanoparticles as an adjunct strategy in the management of Alzheimer’s disease.