Antioxidative Activities of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Licorice Roots
Abstract
The licorice roots, is known as a healthy nutrient for more than 3000 years. The antioxidant activities of licorice roots, aqueous and ethanolic extracts, have been studied by using two different methods (reducing power and chelating ability). It was found that the total phenolic compounds in aqueous and ethanolic extracts of licorice roots were 4.8 and 9.2 mg/100 mg dry extract, respectively. The flavonoids (which are a part of the phenolic compounds) were found to be 2.3 and 6.8 mg/100 mg dry extract in aqueous and ethanolic extract of licorice roots respectively. The ethanolic extract shows high antioxidative activity as compared with aqueous extract. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of licorice roots show high reducing power ability comparing with their abilities as chelating agents. Thus, this study suggests that licorice extract can be used as a potential source of natural antioxidants.
Keywords:
Antioxidants, aqueous and ethanolic, extract, licorice rootsArticle Metrics
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