Evaluation of the Antioxidant Potential of Korean Indigenous Plant Extracts by Free Radical Scavenging Activity

Since reactive oxygen radicals play an important role in carcinogenesis and other human diseases including neurodegenerative states, antioxidants present in natural products have received considerable attention for alleviation of these disease states. Therefore, in order io identify antioxidants in plant extracts, fifty-seven methanolic extracts derided from indigenous Korean plants were primarily assessed for potential to scavenge stable 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. As a result, nine plant extracts were found to exhibit the DPPH free radical scavenging activity in the criteria of $IC_{50}<40\;{\mu}g/ml$. In particular, the extracts of Melioma oldhami $(IC_{50}=0.1\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Myrica rubra $(IC_{50}=16.2\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Sympolocos paniculata $(IC_{50}=23.0\;{\mu}g/ml)$, Carpinus laxiflora $(IC_{50}=25.1\;{\mu}g/ml)$, and Cleyera japonica $(IC_{50}=26.2\;{\mu}g/ml)$ showed a potent radical scavenging activity. Further study for the identification of active compounds from these lead extracts might be warranted.