Comparison of phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity of three Ornithogalum L. Species

Abstract

Background: Aboveground parts and bulbs of Ornithogalum species are consumed as food and used in traditional medicine in worldwide. Objective: It is aimed to report the antioxidant capacity and phenolic compounds content of Ornithogalum sigmoideum, Ornithogalum orthophyllum and Ornithogalum oligophyllum for the first time. Materials and methods: Antioxidant activity of the crude methanol extracts of the aerial parts and the bulbs of the species were determined with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydra-zyl, superoxide radical scavenging, ferrous ion-chelating effect, phosphomolybdenum-reducing antioxidant power and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay. The ethyl-acetate, diethylether and water subextracts from leaf and flower were analyzed to quantify selected phenolic compounds by HPLC-UV. Results: Among the six extracts, the methanol extract of the aerial parts of O. orthophyllum contained the highest amount of phenolic compounds (GAE, 11.0 mg/g extract). The aerial parts of O. orthophyllum showed higher DPPH and SOD activities than the other extracts with the SC50 values of 0.39 ± 0.05 mg/mL and 0.44 ± 0.08 mg/mL, respectively. Protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid and p-coumaric acid were the most abundant compounds at all the subextracts. Conclusion: The antioxidant activity is found to be in accordance with the levels of phenolic content in the extracts.