Phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of Daphne blagayana growing in Serbia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities of methanoli and chloroform extracts of leaves and twigs of Daphne blagayana. The total phenolic content in the chloroform extract of plant twigs (90.26 ± 0.69 mg GA/g) was higher than that of the other extracts (from 76.56±0.89 to 77.45±0.43 mg GA/g). In the case of fl avonoids, a greater value was also obtained for the chloroform extract of twigs (35.24±0.55 mg RU/g). Several different methods were used to determine the antioxidant activity of the tested extracts, including total antioxidant capacity, metal chelating activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and inhibitory activity against lipid peroxidation. Our results showed that although secondary metabolites of the plants may contribute significantly to their antioxidant activities, those antioxidant activities were not directly related to the phenolic and flavonoid amounts. The results of the present analysis demonstrated, for the first time, that Daphne blagayana leaves and twigs possess high phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as potential antioxidant activity. This study suggests that Daphne blagayana twigs and leaves may potentially be used as an accessible source of natural antioxidants.