The comparative investigation of the antioxidant activities of some species belonging to the Lamiaceae and Poaceae families

Abstract

The antioxidant compounds of plants have widely been investigated for the purpose of medical and industrial uses due to their aroma, color, smell and protective properties. In the study, 16 species from Lamiaceae and 14 species from Poaceae were collected from the Northeastern Mediterranean region and then they were analysed. The dry weight and water conditions of the plant samples were identified. It was identified that there wasn’t a significant difference between these two families in respect to their values of chlorophyll and carotene. The mean xanthophyll content was higher in the Lamiaceae species (236 μg g-1 FW) than in the Poacea species (142 μg g-1 FW) and total antioxidative capacity was higher in Lamiacea species (5.19 mg g-1 FW) than Poaceae species (3.49 mg g-1 FW). On the other hand, mean soluble phenolics were measured as 1.83 mg g-1 FW in Poaceae species and 1.67 mg g-1 FW in Lamiaceae species. Superoxide dismutase enzyme activity was higher in Poaceae species. The findings revealed that significant differences could exist among the families and further comparative studies should be performed for the determination of the biochemical resources.