Antioxidant Activities of Red Hamcho(Salicornia herbacea L.) against Lipid Peroxidation and the Formation of Radicals

Abstract

Hamcho(Salicorinia herbacea, glasswort), a halophyte, is an annual succulent shrub that grows on coastal wetlands and has been regarded as a functional food for good health. Natural dried red and green Hamcho were extracted with 25% ethanol and water at 70. The antioxidant activities of these four extracts were examined by six different assays, including the measurement of total phenolics, radical scavenging effects on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH), nitric oxide(NO) and nitrite(NO) scavenging effects, reducing power, and the inhibitory effect on tyrosinase activity. The total phenolic contents of the four extracts were high at 237 255 mg of gallic acid equivalents per 1 g of dried sample tested. The green Hamcho extracts contained more phenolic compounds than the red Hamcho extracts. When they were compared to tocopherols, the antioxidant activities of the green and red Hamcho powders were significantly higher at the same concentration levels(5 mg and 3 mg, respectively) in a POV test. The inhibition effects of the four extracts at a level of 75 were higher than 98% in the POV test. The red Hamcho 25% ethanol extract showed a high significant effect on DPPH radical scavenging(SC, 90.1 ). The green Hamcho 25% ethanol extract, however, showed a high significant effect on NO radical scavenging(SC, 6.1 ). The NO radical scavenging effect was assayed at pH 1.2, 4.2 and 6.0, and all the Hamcho extracts scavenged the NO radical much more effectively at pH 1.2. The NO scavenging effect of the red Hamcho 25% ethanol extract(64%) was as high as that of 5 mM vitamin C at pH 1.2(pg of kojic acid. The green and red Hamcho 25% ethanol extracts totally inhibited tyrosinase activity(100%). Therefore, the results suggest that red Hamcho extracts may serve as useful natural antioxidants along with green Hamcho extracts.