Antioxidant Activity of Curcuma Longa L., Novel Foodstuff

Abstract

The potential antioxidant activities of different fractions from methanolic extract of Curcuma longa L. were assayed in vitro. All of the fractions exception of n-hexane and H2O showed a strong antioxidant activity, especially the ethylacetate (EtOAc) fraction, which showed the highest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity (IC50= 9.86 mu g/mL). The results of 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay showed concentration dependency, the EtOAc fraction demonstrating a better result than the other fractions at the same concentration in this studies. Additionally, when the total phenolic contents of fractions were measured, the EtOAc fraction contained the highest level. Meanwhile, correlation analysis indicated a high correlation between the antiradical activity and the total phenolic contents, suggesting that fractions obtained from the methanolic extract of Curcuma longa L. have wide potential for use as sources of antioxidant material.