Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds and Assessment of Antioxidant Capacity and Anti-Inflammatory of Alcoholic Extraction of Melilotus Officinalis and Fraxinus Excelsior

Objectives In recent years, researchers tried to find new compounds with herbal origins to treat and prevent diseases. The current study aimed at investigating the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Melilotus officinalis and Fraxinus excelsior alcoholic extracts, commonly used in traditional medicines.
Methods After preparing the ethanolic extracts of M. officinalis and F. excelsior by the maceration method, the antioxidant properties were investigated by the cupric ion reducing assay (cupric assay) and the anti-inflammatory effects were also investigated through the prevention test of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and its transformation potential.
Results The obtained results showed that both mentioned plants had antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The antioxidant properties changed based on the concentration of extracts, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties increased along with the concentration increase. The highest amount of phenolic compound in F. excelsior was 0.04 mg/g of dry extract; this plant also showed the highest antioxidant effect (0.714±0.045). The highest amount of flavonoid compounds in M. officinalis was 9.23 mg; this plant showed the highest anti-inflammatory effects (0.21±0.033 ).
Conclusion The employed screening methods were useful to find biological components with different properties.