Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity of Syzygium cumini Leaves.docVIP

Molecules 2008, 13, 2545-2556; DOI: 10.3390/moleculeOPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 /molecules Article Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity of Syzygium cumini Leaves Zhi Ping Ruan 1,2, Liang Liang Zhang 1,2 and Yi Ming Lin 1,2, * 1 Key Lab of Ministry of Education for Coast and Wetland Ecosystems, Xiamen 361005; P.R. China; E-mails: rz (Z-P. R.); zhll20086@ (L-L. Z.) 2 Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005; P.R. China * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail: linym@; Tel.: (+86) 592 2187657. Received: 22 August 2008; in revised form: 10 October 2008 / Accepted: 13 October 2008 / Published: 16 October 2008 Abstract: The antioxidant activity of Syzygium cumini leaf extracts was investigated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The methanolic extract and its four water, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and n-hexane fractions were prepared and subjected to antioxidant evaluation. The results showed that the ethyl acetate fraction had stronger antioxidant activity than the other ones. HPLC data indicated that S. cumini leaf extracts contained phenolic compounds, such as ferulic acid and catechin, responsible for their antioxidant activity. A significant linear relationship between antioxidant potency, free radical-scavenging ability and the content of phenolic compounds of leaf extracts supported this observation. Keywords: Syzygium cumini; Antioxidant activity; Free radicals; High performance liquid chromatography Introduction Consumption of fruits and vegetables is shown to lower the risk for chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and stroke [1]. The positive health effects may be due to high contents of  Molecules 2008, 13 2546 certain phenolic compounds in plant-derived foods [2]. Recently, phytochemicals and their effect