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Quantitative analysis of polyphenols and antioxidant activity in four Daphne L. species

Central European Journal of Biology volume 7, pages 1092–1100 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

The content of biologically active phenolic compounds (total polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids) were determined using spectrophotometry in four wild Croatian species of Daphne L. in the family Thymelaeaceae (Daphne alpina, D. cneorum, D. laureola, and D. mezereum). The concentration of total flavonoids (TF) was highest in the leaves of these Daphne species (0.12–0.51% dry herb weight, DW) whereas the content of other phenolic compounds analyzed were highest in the roots, including total polyphenols (TP; 2.71–19.03% DW), tannins (T; 1.14–7.39% DW), and total phenolic acids (TPA; 0.12–0.87% DW). D. alpina contained the highest amount of polyphenols, with the exception of flavonoids, where maximum concentrations were found in D. laureola. We also examined the antioxidant activity of leaf, stem, and root extracts. All extracts analyzed demonstrated high free radical scavenging activity with the highest concentration in the leaf extracts of D. alpina. Leaf extracts of D. cneorum showed the highest antioxidant activity in a β-carotene bleaching assay.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytics and Control of Medicines, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Renata Jurišić Grubešić & Jadranka Vuković Rodríguez

  2. Department of Pharmaceutical Botany with “Fran Kušan” Pharmaceutical Botanical Garden, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Dario Kremer

  3. Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Marijana Zovko Končić

  4. Public institution “Priroda”, HR-51000, Rijeka, Croatia

    Marko Randić

Authors
  1. Renata Jurišić Grubešić
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  2. Dario Kremer
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  3. Marijana Zovko Končić
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  4. Jadranka Vuković Rodríguez
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Correspondence to Renata Jurišić Grubešić.

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Grubešić, R.J., Kremer, D., Končić, M.Z. et al. Quantitative analysis of polyphenols and antioxidant activity in four Daphne L. species. cent.eur.j.biol. 7, 1092–1100 (2012). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-012-0102-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-012-0102-8

Keywords

  • Daphne
  • Total polyphenols
  • Tannins
  • Flavonoids
  • Phenolic acids
  • Multivariate analysis
  • Antioxidant activity