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Total Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Capacities of Selected Chinese Medicinal Plants

Authors Song, Feng-Lin; Gan, Ren-You; Zhang, Yuan; Xiao, Qin; Kuang, Lei; Li, Hua-Bin

Journal INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES , JUN 2010,6:11

DOI 10.3390/ijms11062362 PubMed 20640157

Abstract Antioxidant capacities of 56 selected Chinese medicinal plants were evaluated using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and their total phenolic content was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The strong correlation between TEAC value and FRAP value suggested that the antioxidants in these plants possess free radical scavenging activity and oxidant reducing power, and the high positive correlation between antioxidant capacities and total phenolic content implied that phenolic compounds are a major contributor to the antioxidant activity of these plants. The results showed that Dioscorea bulbifera, Eriobotrya japonica, Tussilago farfara and Ephedra sinica could be potential rich sources of natural antioxidants.

Species covered 款冬 Tussilago farfara 黄独 Dioscorea bulbifera 草麻黄 Ephedra sinica 枇杷 Eriobotrya japonica