Comparative assessment of annual wormwood and local accessions of bitter leaf for antioxidant composition and activity

Aim: To evaluate ethanol extracts of two anti-malarial herbs from Asteraceae family, annual wormwood (Artemisia annua L.) and bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina Del.), for antioxidant composition and activity. Methods: Aerial leaves from both herbs were sampled at flowering stage, extracted with 95% ethanol and resulting crude extracts evaluated for antioxidant composition and activity using selected assay systems. Results: Extract yield from annual wormwood doubled the mean yield from four bitter leaf accessions studied, while its total phenol content (5.19 mg Gallic Acid Equivalents/ 1 g dry weight) was nearly ten folds (p