Total antioxidant capacity of edible plants commonly found in East Asia and the Middle East determined by an amperometric method

This study presents the determination of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in twenty edible plants traditionally considered as having pro-health properties and commonly found in East Asia and the Middle East. The aim of the study was to apply a flow-injection amperometric detector (Blizar antioxidant analyzer) for rapid measurement of TAC. Three extraction solvents were used (water, 40% ethanol and 96% ethanol). On average, the edible plants that presented the highest TAC [expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAE)] for the three extraction solvents were Rosa rugosa (34 mg/g GAE), Scutellaria baicalensis (22.9 mg/g GAE), Forsythia suspensa (11.7 mg/g GAE), Carthamus tinctorius (11.5 mg/g GAE), Smilacis glabrae rhizoma (10.8 mg/g GAE), Citri reticulatae pericarpium (8.8 mg/g GAE), Apocynum venetum (7.6 mg/g GAE) and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (7.5 mg/g GAE). This investigation contributes to the current knowledge on the overall antioxidant activity of edible plants traditionally consumed for expected pro-health properties, identifying specimens exhibiting high TAC determined by a rapid and low cost amperometric method.