Identification and antioxidant activity of several flavonoids of Inga edulis leaves

Abstract

A methanol-water extract of Inga edulis leaves was fractionated to identify the polyphenolic compounds. The identified compounds were gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, myricetin-3-rhamnopyranoside, quercetin-3-glucopyranoside and quercetin-3-rhamnopyranoside. The antioxidant activity of the extract and of pure polyphenols was measured by the ORAC assay and compared with the Total Phenolic (TP) content. The dry crude extract presented very high values for ORAC (11.16 mmol TE per g) and TP (496.5 mg GAE per g). The identified compounds were responsible for 9.53 % and 12.10 % of the ORAC value and TP content of the Inga edulis leaf extract, respectively. ©2007 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.