Antioxidative activities and the total phenolic contents of tonic Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Abstract

Chinese medicated diet is an everyday practice in China. In this study, 16 commonly used soup making tonic Chinese medicinal herbs were selected for antioxidative capacities by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and the total phenolic contents of these herbal extracts were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. It confirmed that drinking tonic soups could supplement total antioxidants intake. Amongst the tested herbal extracts, extracts of Canarium album Raeusch., Flos caryophylli and Fructus amomi were found to have the highest antioxidative activities in both DPPH and FRAP assays. Their antioxidative activities were comparable to ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene. Thus, these herbs are safe and inexpensive sources of natural antioxidants. A significant relationship between the antioxidative effects and total phenolic contents were found, indicating phenolic compounds are the major contributor of antioxidative capacities of these herbs. In addition, a strong correlation between DPPH assay and FRAP assay implied that antioxidants in these herbs were capable of scavenging free radicals and reducing oxidants.

Hypoglycemic and anti–hyperglycemic study of Gynura procumbens leaf extracts

“…Five normal and 35 STZ-induced diabetic rats were assigned to eight groups of five rats each and treated consecutively for 14 FBG and body weight of the rats were measure at outset of the experiment (baseline fasting blood glucose), day 7 and at the end of study (day 14).…”

“…A series of standard gallic acid solutions μg/mL) were prepared and absorbance measured at same wavelength and data used to plot the calibration curve. The total phenolic content was calculated as μg/mL of gallic acid equivalent of extracts [7] . All samples were analyzed in triplicates.…”

Application of Gas Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight-Mass Spectrometry for Post-Target Analysis of Volatile Compounds in Fructus Amomi

“…Fructus Amomi is one of the herbal medicines which has an effect on the clinical therapy of abdominal pain, vomiting and dysentery mainly attributed to its essential oil. [26][27][28] In this study, a posttarget method was applied for the determination of volatile compounds in Fructus Amomi based on gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-Q-ToF-MS), with more volatile compounds being identified compared with conventional methods. Meantime, the accurate mass of fragment ions acquired by GC-Q-ToF-MS showed greatly helped in the confirmation of structure identification.…”

Hepatoprotective effect ofAmomum xanthoidesagainst dimethylnitrosamine-induced sub-chronic liver injury in a rat model

“…Commonly, five main classes of components, such as volatile oils, saponins, flavonoid glycosides, organic acids and inorganic components are contained in A. xanthoides. Several studies have indicated that A. xanthoides has antiinflammatory, antiallergic, antidiabetic and antioxidative effects in both human subjects and animal models (Guo et al, 2008;Kim & Shin, 2005;Park & Park, 2001;Wu et al, 2004). In addition, A. xanthoides is also one component of the herbal hepatotherapeutic formula Chungan extract, the efficacy of which had been demonstrated both in clinical trials and in several animal models (Cho et al, 2001;Shin et al, 2006;Wang et al, 2010).…”