The antioxidant activities and reducing power capabilities of Veronica crista-galli and Veronica persica were evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging assay, total antioxidant activity and MTT assay at incubation times of 24, 48 and 72 hours. A water fraction of methanolic extract of V. crista-galli with the highest amount of total flavonoid (16.19 ± 0.001 mg of QE/g of dried plant) demonstrated stronger antioxidant effect than V. persica extract with the highest content of phenolic compounds (60.75 ± 0.0013 mg GAE/g of dried plant). The IC50 values of V. persica and V. crista-galli extracts were found to be 153.7 and 79.64 μg/mL, respectively. V. crista-galli possessed considerable inhibitory effect at lower concentrations on MCF-7 and Hela cell lines by increasing incubation time. There was no cytotoxic effect observed in the normal HDF cell line. This study recommends that the water fraction of the methanolic extracts of V. persica and V. crista-galli with in vitro antioxidant and selective anti-proliferative activities can support the popular uses of Veronica species in traditional medicine as effective natural remedies.
