Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2014, Pages 127–133
Abstract
The
ability of plant phenolics to act as free radical scavengers has led to
increased interest in their ability to act as antioxidants in vivo.
Polyphenolic compounds, commonly present in hawthorn (Crataegus spp.),
as well as herbal preparations of hawthorn were examined using the TEAC
and DPPH assays to determine their antioxidant activity. Initial
results have shown the standards to be efficient free radical
scavengers. Quercetin dihydrate was found to be the most effective with
ability to inhibit up to 87.9% of the DPPH radical and over 90% of the
ABTS radical. The herbal preparations tested showed infusions of
hawthorn leaf and flower to be almost as effective with 82.9% of DPPH
radicals and 87.9% of ABTS radicals being inhibited. Most hawthorn
preparations are consumed orally, however, and the effect of
gastro-intestinal conditions on the ability of phenolic compounds to
scavenge free radicals is not taken into account. Both, the standards
and crude herbal preparations were exposed to simulated
gastro-intestinal conditions to determine their effect, if any, on
antioxidant activity. This study indicates that the scavenging activity
of hawthorn phenolics may be reduced by the digestive process. The
scavenging activity of Luteolin against ABTS radicals was found to have
decreased by 67.8%. The effect of the process on the herbal preparations
varied with the ability of the berry decoction to scavenge DPPH
decreasing by 43% while the scavenging of the leaf and flower infusion
decreased by only 1.94%.
Keywords
- Simulated stomach;
- Hawthorn;
- Crataegus spp.;
- Herbal preparations;
- Antioxidant activity
Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier GmbH
