Antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds of extracts from the Algerian plant Moltkia ciliata

Abstract

In the present study, we reported the evaluation of antioxidant properties using electrochemical and spectrophotometric assays and determination of total bioactive compounds content of the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and n-butanol (n-BuOH) extracts of Moltkia ciliata growing in Algeria. The results obtained showed that the EtOAc extract was rich in bioactive compounds, which showed the most effective antioxidant capacity in all tests compared to the n-BuOH extract. This was confirmed by the chromatographic analysis and HPLC of the extract of many compounds in different quantities. The difference in antioxidant activity can be explained by differences in the levels of polyphenols and flavonoids. The study concludes this plant is a rich source of phenols and flavonoids, and also showed good in-vitro antioxidant activity by all methods. Thus, the plant M. ciliata can be explored as a potential source of natural antioxidant.