Antioxidant capacity of essential oil and extract of Iranian Mentha spicat

This study was designed to evaluate antioxidant capacity of the essential oil and ethanolic extract of the Iranian Mentha spicata in the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ß-carotene/linoleic acid tests based on the inhibition of free radicals and lipid peroxidation, respectively. The essential oil and extract showed weaker antioxidant capacity than BHT, as a synthetic antioxidant. The essential oil of Mentha spicata and its ethanolic extract were able to reduce the stable free radical DPPH with an IC50 of 44000 and 12 μg/ml, respectively. In ß-carotene/linoleic acid assay, they also inhibited the linoleic acid oxidation; exhibiting 40% and 61% inhibition at concentration of 2 g/L, respectively. While these values in BHT were 5 μg/ml and 95%, respectively. On the basis of the results of this study, it is clearly indicated that ethanolic extract of Iranian Mentha spicata has noticeable antioxidant ability against various oxidative systems in vitro; moreover, this extract can be used as an accessible source of natural antioxidants in possible food supplement or in pharmaceutical industry.