Biol. Pharm. Bull. 28(9) 1791—1794 (2005)

species in Italy of which nine are endemic. Several Achillea species are used for their pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and fragrance properties. The extracts exhibit pharmacologic activities such as antiinflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic properties. Achillea ligustica ALL., a member of the Achillea nobilis group, has been used as medicine mainly for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders and have been previously examined for flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones and essential oils. It has long been recognized that naturally occurring substances in higher plants have antioxidant activity, particularly flavonoids. Recently, there has been growing interest in oxygen-containing free radicals in biologic systems and their implied roles as causative agents in the etiology of a variety of chronic disorders. Diabetes is a major risk factor for premature atherosclerosis, and oxidative stress plays an important role since diabetic monocytes produce increased superoxide anion (O2 ). Recent advances in understanding of the activity of a-amylase and a-glucosidase have led to the development of new pharmacologic agents. Amylase inhibition has gastrointestinal and metabolic effects that may aid not only in the treatment of diabetes but also of obesity. Accordingly, attention is being focused on the protective biochemical functions of naturally occurring antioxidants and inhibitors of a-amylase in the cells of organisms containing them. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on the in vitro antioxidant and a-amylase inhibitory activities of A. ligustica in the literature. In the present study, we used two different in vitro assays, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test and lipid peroxidation of liposomes assay, to evaluate the antioxidant activity and an assay to evaluate a-amylase inhibition of different extracts from A. ligustica.