Quercus L. galls have been used in Western and Eastern cultures for various diseases in traditional medicine. Galls are also used in the East for many purposes, including consumption as food, commercial inks, leather tanning. In the current study, Andricus sternlichti Bellido, Pujade-Villar & Melika, 2003 galls were extracted in different solvents. The possible antioxidant effects of gall extracts were determined using 7 different methods (βcarotene-linoleic acid assay, Phosphomolybdenum assay, DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, CUPRAC and FRAP assay, Metal Chelating activity) to support each other. Total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin amounts of extracts are calculated by using standard curves. In addition, HPLC method used to characterize the phenolic component with 15 different standards. The MIA PaCa-2 cell lines was preferred to identify possible cytotoxic activities of galls. Expression of some genes (Bax, Bcl-2, FAS, BID, caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-10, FADD, TRADD) role in the apoptosis was determined to investigate apoptotic effects of extracts. According the results, the gall extracts of A. sternlichti may be considered as a potential source of biological agents for their antioxidant capacity and rich bioactive compounds. The gall extracts exhibit antiproliferative activity via regulating expressions of apoptotic genes.

Andricus quercustozae (Bosc, 1792) is a cynipid gall wasp, which induces gall on oaks (Quercus spp.). It is known that both cynipid galls and oaks are used in traditional medicine. In this study, some biological characteristics of various extracts (acetone and ethanol) of A. quercustozae asexual gall and its host plant, Quercus infectoria Olivier, were investigated. The antioxidant capacities of the extracts were evaluated using radical scavenging activity (ABTS and DPPH assays), the β-carotene-linoleic acid method, the phosphomolybdenum method, and the reducing power (CUPRAC method). Total phenolics, flavonoid and tannin contents were measured in the gall and the oak leaf extracts. Moreover, ethanol extracts of the gall and the host plant were evaluated using HPLC for the composition of phenolics. Generally, the gall extracts (acetone and ethanol, respectively) exhibited the strongest radical scavenging (DPPH, IC50 value of acetone extract: 11.00 μg/mL and IC50 value of ethanol extract: 8.67 μg/mL; ABTS, 52.27 μg/mL and 44.97 μg/mL) and antioxidant activities with the highest level of phenolics. The antioxidant activity of the gall extracts was in the range of 80.74 to 87.49 % for β-carotene-linoleic acid method, while and it was ranged from 75.68 to 78.20 mgAEs/g for phosphomolybdenum method. In the results of some antioxidant methods (ABTS and β-carotene-linoleic acid), it is observed that the host plant extract has values close or high to the gall extract. In this context, our results suggested that the cynipid gall extracts could be used as a natural agent in food, medicinal and pharmaceutical applications.

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