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Screening of antioxidant capacity of Nepali medicinal plants with a novel singlet oxygen scavenging assay

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Abstract

Pollutant exposure due to industrial development increases oxidative stress in human bodies. Dietary intake of antioxidant shows a protective effect against oxidative damage induced by oxidative stress. Therefore, the development of natural antioxidants is needed. In this study, the antioxidant activities of some Nepali medicinal plant extracts were measured. Using Rose bengal and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine, a novel assay was utilized to evaluate the singlet oxygen scavenging capacity, and showed a strong correlation with other antioxidant assays. Also, antioxidant capacities based on four assays including the singlet oxygen scavenging assay were highly correlated (≥ 0.858) with the total phenolic contents in the medicinal plant extracts. Among the selected extracts, Persicaria capitata, Elaphoglossum marginatum and Eurya acuminata showed the highest antioxidant capacities. Overall, this study presents a novel approach for evaluating singlet oxygen scavenging capacity, and performed a screening of antioxidant capacities of 54 Nepali herbal medicines.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the medicinal plant extracts in Nepal provided from the Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal, and Central Department of Biotechnology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu (Nepal). This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2022R1C1C10117701161782064340101) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Mistry of Education267 (2021R1A6A1A03039211).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Pukyong National University, 45 Yongso-Ro, Nam-Gu, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea

    Chan Seo & Sang Gil Lee

  2. Department of Smart Green Technology Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea

    Hyun Woo An, Joo Won Lee & Sang Gil Lee

  3. Industry 4.0 Convergence Bionics Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea

    Won Han & Joong Ho Shin

  4. Ethnobotanical Society of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Krishna K. Shrestha

  5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea

    Won-Kyo Jung & Joong Ho Shin

  6. Research Center for Marine Integrated Bionics Technology, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Korea

    Won-Kyo Jung

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  1. Chan Seo
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Seo, C., An, H.W., Han, W. et al. Screening of antioxidant capacity of Nepali medicinal plants with a novel singlet oxygen scavenging assay. Food Sci Biotechnol 32, 221–228 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-022-01175-z

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