Antioxidant Activity of Medicinal Plants from Southeastern Kazakhstan

Abstract

The antioxidant activity and total contents of phenolic compounds and flavonoids in extracts of several medicinal plants from southeastern Kazakhstan are studied. Antioxidant activity was evaluated in vitro using the cation-radical 2,2^′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS^•+), the radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•), and the FRAP method. The antioxidant and antiradical activities of the studied plants varied over wide ranges. Extracts of roots and the aerial part of Geranium collinum had the greatest antioxidant and antiradical activity; of Agrimonia asiatica, Alchemilla vulgaris, and Alhagi pseudalhagi, high activity. The antioxidant activities of H₂O–EtOH and H₂O–Me₂CO extracts of G. collinum and A. asiatica showed a reliable correlation with their contents of phenolic compounds.