A Review of Natural Antioxidants in Medicinal Plants

Natural antioxidants are widely distributed in medicinal plants. These natural antioxidants, especially polyphenols and carotenoids, exhibit a wide range of biological effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, anti-atherosclerosis and anticancer. The medicinal plants are crucial to explore the potential antioxidant sources and promote the application in functional foods. The present paper provides comprehensive information on the green extraction technologies of natural antioxidants, assessment of antioxidant activity at chemical and cellular based levels and their main resources from food and medicinal plants   Oxygen free radicals induce damage due to peroxidation to biomembranes and also to DNA, which lead to tissue damage, thus cause occurrence of a number of diseases. Antioxidants neutralise the effect of free radicals through different ways and may prevent the body from various diseases. Antioxidants may be synthetic or natural. Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) have recently been reported to be dangerous for human health. Thus, the search for effective, non-toxic natural compounds with antioxidative activity has been intensified in recent years. The present review includes a brief account of research reports on plants with antioxidant potential