Antioxidant activities of extracts and fractions from Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance

The antioxidant activities of water extract, methanol extract, ethyl acetate, and n-BuOH fractions of methanol extract from Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance were investigated in this study. Various methods, such as the total antioxidant capacity measured by phosphomolybdenum method, scavenging activities towards 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, superoxide anion radical, and hydroxyl radical, were established in in vitro systems. The amounts of total phenolics and total flavonoids in the extracts and fractions were also determined by spectrophotometric methods. The results showed that all the extracts and fractions exhibited antioxidant and radical-scavenging activities at different magnitudes of potency. The decreasing order of antioxidant and radical-scavenging activities among the extracts assayed through all the four methods were found to be ethyl acetate fraction > n-BuOH fraction > methanol extract > water extract. This similar order of the amounts of total phenolics and total flavonoids shows that the extent of antioxidant and radical-scavenging activities is in accordance with the amounts of phenolics and flavonoids present in extracts and fractions. The extracts of L foenum-graecum Hance might be valuable antioxidant natural sources and seemed to be applicable in both healthy medicine and food industry. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.