Abstract:

Abstract. Berberis (Barberry) belongs to the family Berberidaceae and its use in traditional medicine has a long history. This plant is native to America and Europe and can be found in abundance in Iran. This research aims to assess and compare total phenolic and flavonoid content and measure antioxidant activity with DPPH radical scavenging and to measure Fe reduction capacity in aqueous, ethanolic and methanolic extract of fresh and dried fruits of hybrid barberry Integerrima ×Vulgaris. Total phenol and flavonoid content was measured by spectrophotometry and antioxidant activity of extracts using free radical DPPH and Fe reduction with FRAP assay. Maximum amount of phenol (59.57±0.83 mg of gallic acid/10 g barberry) was seen in aqueous extract of dried fruits while highest flavonoid content (1.93±0.03 mg of quercetin/10 g barberry) and DPPH radical scavenging activity (44.62±0.99) was observed in methanolic extract of fresh barberry and maximum Fe reduction level with FRAP (18.15±0.84) in ethanolic extract of dried of barberry. Results showed that barberry is a rich source of antioxidant compounds having significant antioxidant activity.

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