Antioxidant activity and anthocyanin content in Vaccinium arctostaphylos L. from Iran

Vaccinium arctostaphylos L. (Ericaceae family) is a medicinal plant that has been extensively used in Iranian folk medicine as antidiabetic and antihypertensive agents for many years. This plant possess interesting medical properties mainly due to the presence of significant amount of phenolics and polyphenolics. It is well established that a strong and positive relationship exists between total phenolics, anthocyanin contents and oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC) [1, 2]. In order to investigate the total phenolic and anthocyanin contents along with the antioxidant activity in leaves and fruits of V. arctostaphylos, extracts were determined in four native plant samples grown in three provinces of Iran (Gilan, Mazandaran and Ardabil). Antioxidant activities of extracts were evaluated using the stable 2,2-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Anthocyanin content varied from 10.51±0.05 to 1003.6±0.007mg g^-1 dry weight. Total polyphenol contents were between 7.8±0.079 and 73.03±0.31mg g^-1 dry weight. The highest radical scavenging effects were observed in leaves and fruits of Kelardasht (Mazandaran) (0.72 and 0.24mg ml^-1 respectively). The results showed that the greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to more potent radical scavenging effect and the antioxidant capacity depends on the genotype and the location where they are grown.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII).

References: 1. Akhondzadeh, Sh. (2000) Encyclopedia of Iranian Medicinal plants. Arjomand press. p.144

2. Pandjaitan, N.H. et al. (2005)J. Agric. Food Chem. 53: 8618–8623.