Antioxidant Activity of Some Phanerogam Plant Extracts

Abstract

Nine phanerogam plants (common lady's-mantle, bear's garlic, common sweet flag, agrimony, goldenrod, common speedwell, european mistletoe, horsetail and milfoil) were evaluated regarding their total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity. The flavonoid contents ranged from 0.72 (goldenrod) to 0.25 mmol/g dry matter (horsetail). The contents of quercetin, rutin, kaempferol and myricetin were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. Quercetin content was found to be very low in goldenrod and mistletoe extracts (0.20 µmol/g dry matter in european mistletoe) and almost undetectable in the other seven extracts. The rutin content was much higher, ranging from 96.25 (goldenrod) to 0.49 µmol/g dry matter (common sweet flag). Except for horsetail, kaempferol was found in all other eight extracts, the biggest quantity (2.15 µmol/g dry matter) being in the goldenrod extract. Myricetin was only found in goldenrod and agrimony (0.35 and 0.08 µmol/ g dry matter respectively). Goldenrod and milfoil showed the highest values for the antioxidant activity, expressed as mol quercetin equivalent, in the DPPH · (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method, namely 0.00542 and 0.00532. These results suggest them to be used as natural sources of antioxidants instead of synthetic ones. et al. 2004et al. , Hae et al. 2001.Flavones are a part of the naturally antioxidants that acts against the above mentioned radicals and also against the extremely reactive NO• and NO 2 • radicals. As antioxidants, they prevent vitamin C oxidation by copper enzymes being also synergetic with the ascorbic acid (Safta 2002). From structural point of view, flavones are a class of flavonoids based on the backbone of 2-phenylchromen-4-one (2-phenyl-1-benzopyran-4-one) (Szabo et al. 2007a). Common lady's-mantle, bear's garlic, common sweet flag, agrimony, goldenrod, common speedwell, european mistletoe, horsetail and milfoil are natural flavones resources. Except of bear's garlic, goldenrod, agrimony, common speedwell and European mistletoe that are characteristic to the Central European area, the rest of them are spread all over the world (Popovici et al. 1992). Their antioxidative and health effect is manifested whether consumed as herbal teas or food supplements. Ethanol macerates of these plants contains most of their active compounds and, additionally, are having good miscibility and long shelf life compared with other types of extracts like essential oils (Banu 2000). Plus, thermal treatment, that might alter their radical-scavenging activity (Khatun et al. 2006), is not needed. Determining their antioxidant activity is one of the steps to their conditioning, in order to be used as natural alternatives to the synthetic antioxidants in foods and food supplements. Experimental PartExtracts obtaining Five grams of vegetal material dried and grinded was submitted to static extraction (maceration) in 50 mL of 96% ethanol, for 10 days, at room temperature, under stirring 3-4 times/day, at dark. The obtained solutions were then filtered through 4 la...

Phytochemical Characterization of Phoradendron bollanum and Viscum album subs. austriacum as Mexican Mistletoe Plants with Antimicrobial Activity

“…These compounds have been widely studied and used in different areas. Flavones are part of the antioxidants that control oxidation processes by eliminating free radicals [ 44 ]. Specifically, flavones from Asian mistletoe genera with antimicrobial and hypotensive properties were reported [ 45 ].…”

HPLC Fingerprint of Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Viscum album from Different Host Trees

“…They found that in mistletoe hosted by Malus domestica, the main compound was rosmarinic acid (17.48 mg %), while in mistletoe hosted by Populus nigra, the dominant component was chlorogenic acid (12.34 mg %). Condrat et al (2009) investigated also nine phanerogam plants (including the european mistletoe) for their flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. Quercetin and kaempferol concentrations were found to be very low in mistletoe extracts (0.20 µmol/g dry matter, and 0.16 µmol/g dry matter, respectively).…”

Antifungal In Vitro Activity of Phoradendron sp. Extracts on Fungal Isolates from Tomato Crop

“…Flavones are another group of compounds found in Mexican mistletoes [ 6 ]. These phytochemicals have been studied and widely used in different areas, and are part of the antioxidants involved in oxidation processes by eliminating free radicals [ 23 ]. In mistletoes of the Asian genus, flavones have been found with the capacity to reduce the presence of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria, in addition to reducing blood pressure [ 24 ].…”