Antioxidant power of some medicinal plant extracts

The goal of this study was to screen different extracts of medicinal plants for their phenolics profile and antioxidant activities. Antiradical properties of the plant extracts were compared using stable DPPH•. Generally, ethanolic extracts had the strongest antiradical activities followed by ethyl acetate and finally hexane extracts. The ethanolic extracts of different plants were also markedly effective in inhibiting the oxidation of linoleic acid and the subsequent bleaching of ?-carotene in comparison with the control. The content of phenolic compounds (mg/g) in different extracts expressed in gallic acid equivalents (GAE), varied between 1.2 and 15.3. In all plant samples ethanolic extracts contained the highest levels of total phenolics and total flavonoids followed by ethyl acetate extracts and finally hexane extracts. The results are important for using those plants in different food and pharmaceutical applications.