Antioxidant and Nicotine Degradation Effects of Medicinal Herbs

Antioxidant activity and nicotine degradation activity (NDA) of 21 medicinal herbs were determined by using a 1,1-diphenol-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and a PLC/PRF5 human liver cell line method, respectively, to develop an anti-smoking aid. The highest and lowest antioxidant activities represented by $IC_{50}$/ value were 30 $\mu$g/mL of Eugenia caryophyllus and 3,270 $\mu$g/mL of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, respectively. Antioxidant activity of Eugenia caryophyllus was equal to 38.0$\pm$1.2 mg VCEAC(vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity)/ g herb. The highest and lowest NDA values were 1.81 of Astrgalus membranaceus Bunge and 1.01 of Raphani seed and Lespedeza tomentosa Sieb, respectively. Eleven medicinal herbs with high antioxidant activity and/or NDA were selected to make an herbal tea. The herbal tea had high antioxidant activity (50 $\mu$g/mL $IC_{50}$/ and 22.4$\pm$1.4 mgVCEAC/g) and NDA (1.243). The medicinal herb tea could help smokers quitting smoking by degrading and exhausting nicotine accumulated in body and removing reactive oxygen species.