Antioxidant activity of extracts from the bark of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murrary) Parl.

Abstract

The bark of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murray) Parl. was extracted with methanol and sequentially partitioned with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and deionized water. The antioxidant activities of the four extracts were evaluated using the DPPH• and ABTS^+• methods. The total phenolic content of the extracts was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). Butylated hydroxytoluene was used as a positive control in the radical-scavenging activity tests. All the bark extracts showed significant radical-scavenging activity. In the ABTS^+• assay, n-butanol extracts exhibited the strongest radical-scavenging activity, followed by ethyl acetate, water, and n-hexane extracts. The greatest total phenolic content was 428.54 mg GAE per gram of dry extract and was detected in the n-butanol extract, followed by the ethyl acetate and n-hexane extracts. The antioxidant activities correlate with the amount of phenolics present in these extracts. The ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts were rich in phenolics and may represent a good source of antioxidants.

Citation

Gao, Heng; Shupe, Todd F.; Hse, Chung Y.; Eberhardt, Thomas L. 2006. Antioxidant activity of extracts from the bark of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murrary) Parl. Holzforschung, Vol. 60: 459-462