A Comparative Study of Total Phenolic, Total Flavonoid Contents and Antioxidant Capacity of Aerial Parts Extracts of Ferulago angulata in Different Developmental Stages

Recently, there has been an increased interest in identifying natural antioxidant compounds for use in the pharmaceutical and food industries, mainly due to increased unintentional side-effects of synthetic antioxidants. The present study aimed to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract from aerial parts of Ferulago angulata in three developmental stages from two natural habitats of Ilam Province.

The extracts were prepared from aerial parts of Ferulago angulate plant. The total phenol and flavonoid contents of extracts were measured spectrophotometrically by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminium chloride, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was determined by DPPH method. The results of this method were expressed by calculating the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the extract in different developmental stages.

The results showed that the highest phenolic and flavonoid content is in the flowering development stage of Kabirkouh habitat. The DPPH scavenging activity results of methanolic extracts showed that the lowest IC50 value (the highest antioxidant activity) and the highest IC50 value (the lowest antioxidant activity) of methanolic extracts were 0.71 and 2.06 mg/ml at developmental flowering and pre-flowering stages, respectively.

All extracts showed antioxidant activity, which is more effective in the developmental flowering stage of Kabirkouh habitat. This plant can be considered an available source of natural antioxidants that can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In the study of two habitats and three developmental stages, Kabirkouh habitat and the flowering developmental stage are suggested as the most suitable habitats and developmental time to collect this medicinal plant.