Antioxidant activity, phenolic and flavonoid content of wild Alhagi maurorum root plant extracts

Alhagi maurorum, belonging to family Leguminosae, is a highly branched spiny shrub. Roots may reach up to the depth of 15 meters. Alhagi maurorum is used in folk medicine, as a purgative, diaphoretic, expectorant and diuretic used to treat piles, migraine, warts and rheumatism. Samples of the root of Alhagi maurorum plant grown wild in Palestine were extracted with different solvents; water, 80% ethanol, and 100% ethanol. The extracts were analyzed for their total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (AA). Four different antioxidant assays were used to evaluate AA of the extracts: two measures the reducing power of the extracts (ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Cupric reducing antioxidant power (CUPRAC)), while two other assays measure the scavenging ability of the extracts (2,2-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothialozine-sulphonic acid (ABTS), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)).The results revealed that the polarity of the extraction solvent affects the TPC, TFC, and AA. It was found that both TPC and AA are highest for plant extracted with 80% ethanol, followed by water, and finally with 100% ethanol. TFC however was highest in the following order: 80% ethanol >100% ethanol > water