The antioxidant capacities of the crude extract, aqueous and ethyl acetate partitions of Limoniastrum guyonianum Boiss. (Zita) were investigated in this study. The ethyl acetate phase exhibited a significant antioxidant activity as judged by total antioxidant activity, DPPH test and reducing power. Fractionation of this extract by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) using quaternary Arizona solvent systems composed of n-heptane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water led to ten fractions. The antioxidant capacities of these fractions were assessed using the same previous tests. Fraction 8 showed the highest antioxidant capacity (1291.1mg GAE/g DR), the power ability to quench DPPH radical (IC(50)=2μg/ml) and to reduce Fe(3+) (EC(50)=65μg/ml). From this fraction, three powerful flavonoids were isolated (1-3): gallocatechin (1), epigallocatechin (2) and epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (3). These findings suggest that the antioxidative property of L. guynianum is may be related to the presence of these flavonoids, which can be used in various industrial fields.
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