Objective:To investigate 1

1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy1（DPPH） free radical scavenging activities of extracts from Orobanche cernua var.cumana.Method:The 70% ethanol extracts from O.cernua var.cumana was extracted successively with ethyl acetate and n-butanol.The three fractions of ethyl acetate

n-butanol

and water were tested using assays of the scavenging effects on DPPH.The model of oxidative damage of human embryonic kidney cell line HEK-293 cells was induced by H2O2

MTT assay was used to evaluate the cell viability.Result:The IC50 in DPPH test were in the following orders:ethyl acetate（0.042 9 g · L-1）<n-butanol（0.059 9 g · L-1）<VC（0.071 8 g · L-1）<water（0.330 3 g · L-1）.The ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest scavenging activity to DPPH free radicals.The three fractions of ethyl acetate

n-butanol and water could significantly improve the survival rate of injured HEK-293 cells

showing the antioxidant activities.Conclusion:These results demonstrate that the extracts from O.cernua var.cumana have some anti-oxidant and free radical scavenging activities.