Antioxidant activities of the extracts from chestnut flower, leaf, skins and fruit

In this study, the antioxidant properties of chestnut (flowers, leaves, skins and fruits) extracts were evaluated through several biochemical assays: DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging activity, reducing power, inhibition of beta-carotene bleaching, inhibition of oxidative hemolysis in erythrocytes, induced by 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride (AAPH), and inhibition of lipid peroxidation in pig brain tissue through the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). These assays have been extensively studied as models for the peroxidative damage in biomembranes. The EC50 values were calculated for all the methods in order to evaluate the antioxidant efficiency of each chestnut extract. The phenol and flavonoid contents were also obtained. Chestnut skins revealed the best antioxidant properties, presenting much lower EC50 values, particularly for lipid peroxidation inhibition in the TBARS assay. Furthermore, the highest antioxidant contents (polyphenols and flavonoids) were found for these extracts. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.