Antioxidant Capacity Connection with Phenolic and Flavonoid Content in Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Abstract

Traditional Chinese herbal medicines (TCHMs) have been used to treat diseases for thousands of years because of high therapeutic performance and low toxicity. To mine for new natural sources of antioxidants, 93 TCHMs were screened for activity, based on classical antioxidant capacity assays. Substantial differences in antioxidant capacity were coupled with phenolic and flavonoid content for each of the examined species. Species that exhibited both high antioxidant capacity and specialized-phytochemical content included: Angelica dahurica, Atractylodes macrocephala, Paeonia lactiflora, Paeonia suffruticosa and Perilla frutescens. These species have been identified as promising sources for natural antioxidants.