Anti-oxidant activities of extracts of the inflorescences and aerial parts of the herb, Artemisia amygdalina Decne.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-oxidant activities of petroleum ether, methanol, ethyl acetate, and aqueous extracts of the aerial parts and inflorescences of the herb, Artemisia amygdalina Decne. Methanolic extracts of the aerial parts and aqueous extracts of the inflorescences gave the maximum levels of inhibition (90.6% and 76.4%, respectively) in the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay when compared to ascorbic acid, which showed 77.9% inhibition. The superoxide radical scavenging activity was highest in methanolic extracts of the aerial parts and in methanolic extracts of inflorescences (94.3% and 88.5%, respectively).These values were comparable to the reference standard, ascorbic acid, which showed 92.8% superoxide radical scavenging activity. In the deoxyribose assay, α-tocopherol showed 50.1% inhibition, while methanolic extracts of the aerial parts and inflorescences showed 46.2% and 46.4% inhibitory activity, respectively, against hydroxyl radicals. In the ferric thiocyanate assay, petroleum ether extracts of the aerial parts showed 78.7% inhibition, while ethyl acetate extracts of inflorescences showed 80.2% inhibition. The commercial standard, alpha-tocopherol, showed 79.7% scavenging activity. Extracts of A. amygdalina may provide an alternative source of natural anti-oxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]