Total phenolic and flavonoid contents and investigation on antioxidant properties of stem and leaf extracts in six Iranian species of wild Dianthus L.

Methanolic extracts (80%) were prepared from dried powder of leaves and stems of 9 different populations of six Dianthus L. species in Iran. Then, phenolic and flavonoid contents were measured by Foline-ciocalteu and Aluminum chloride methods, respectively. Antioxidant activity was investigated using two complimentary in vitro assays: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and β-carotene bleaching assay and then data were compared with BHT as the standard. Results showed that there were significant differences between means of phenol and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity of the species by the both methods (p<0.01). Also, the results revealed that changes in climate, altitude and genetic pools had a significant effect on the phenol and flavonoid contents and antioxidant properties of the extracts at genus level, but the content of the flavonoids was not changed noticeably within species level.