Authors: Taofik O. Sunmonu, Anthony J. Afolayan
Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 11 (7): 520-525, 2012
ISSN 1680-5194
© Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2012
Abstract:
Artemisia afra Jacq. ex Willd. is widely used in South African traditional medicine for the treatment
of many ailments and diseases. In this work, aqueous extract of the plant was screened for its phenolic profile and antioxidant activity. The results obtained revealed that the extract has considerable amount of polyphenolic compounds including phenol, flavonoid, flavonol and proanthocyanidin. The extract also exhibited significant inhibition of DPPH and ABTS radicals as well as ferric reductive ability in a concentration dependent manner. These are indications of antioxidant activity of A. afra which could be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds; and the data compared well with those of known standards like BHT, rutin and vitamin C. This study has, to some extent, justified the folkloric use of the herb in traditional medicinal practice of South Africa.
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