Antioxidant activity, phenol and flavonoid contents of some selected Iranian medicinal plants

TLDR

The study systematically records the antioxidant activity of selected Iranian medicinal plant extracts. Antioxidant activity was assessed by measuring DPPH radical scavenging spectrophotometrically. Extracts contained 24.1–289.5 mg g⁻¹ total phenols and 25.15–78.3 mg g⁻¹ flavonoids, with Mellilotus officinalis showing the strongest DPPH scavenging (IC₅₀ = 0.018 mg ml⁻¹), four times more potent than BHT, illustrating that higher phenolic content enhances antioxidant activity.

Abstract

In present study, we carried out a systematic record of the relative antioxidant activity in selected Iranian medicinal plant species' extracts. The total phenol varied from 24.1 ± 1 to 289.5 ± 5 mg g -1 in the extracts. Flavonoid contents were between 25.15 ± 0.8 and 78.3 ± 4.5 mg g-1. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging effect of the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically. The highest radical scavenging effect was observed in Mellilotus officinalis with IC50 = 0.018 mg ml –1. The potency of radical scavenging effect of M. officinalis extract was about 4 times greater than synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT). The greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to morepotent radical scavenging effect as shown by M. officinalis extract