Antioxidant activity, phenolics and flavonoid content of some selected Romanian medicinal plants

Extracts of Achillea millefolium L. (AM) and Hyssopus officinalis L. (HO) are widely used as wound – healing agents in Romanian traditional medicine. In the present study, we tested the antioxidant activity of ethanol and water extracts prepared from selected plants. Total phenolics [1], total flavonoids [2] and 1,1-Diphenil-2-Picrazyl Hidrazil Radical (DPPH) scavenging activity [3], were determined spectrophotometrically. Ethanol extract of AM had the highest phenolic content (118±1.9mg caffeic acid/g D.W), followed by ethanol extract of HO (86.7±2.6mg caffeic acid/g D.W.) and water extracts. The flavonoid content of the ethanol extracts of AM (36.3±1.6mg quercetin/g D.W.) was higher then that of HO (31.4±1.3mg quercetin/g D.W.) and water extracts. We found that ethanol extracts had higher radical scavenging activity then standard control (59.28±3.8%), reduced gluthatione (GSH) and water extracts (see the figure). The highest scavenging effect was observed for ethanol extract of HO (71.59±3.5%), followed by AM (70.36±3.2%) ethanol extract, at 0.5mg dry matter/ml concentration. In conclusion, AM and HO possess antioxidant activity. The therapeutic benefit of these plants might be due to antioxidant effects exerted by their phenolic compounds.

Acknowledgements: This work was financially supported by National Biostar Programme (PN 06–400102)

References: [1] Arora, R., Chawla, R. (2005) Molecular and Cellular Bioch., 273: 209. [2] Chang, W.C. et al. (2002) Plant. Sci, 163: 1161.. [3] Huang, H. J., Chen, H.J. (2005) Bot. Bull. Acad.Sin., 46: 99.