Effect of Astragalus sinicus L. seed extract on antioxidant activity

Abstract Antioxidant activity of various extracts of Astragalus sinicus L. seed was evaluated in vitro and in vivo . Among the various extracts, the acetone extract showed the maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity of 95.1% at 10.0 mg/mL, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of 89.4% at 15 mg/mL, and superoxide anion scavenging activity of 74.5% at 15 mg/mL. The inhibition of xanthine oxidase and chelating effect at 10.0 mg/mL of acetone extract were found to be 95.1 and 93.2%, respectively. The concentrations of total phenolic and flavonoide were, respectively, 279.9 and 175.2 mg/g in the acetone extract, about 4.1 and 3.4 times higher than those of the water extract. When the administered concentration of acetone extract was 5.0 g/kg/body weight/day in rats, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activities of the liver were increased approximately 50% compared to those of the control groups. These results suggest that the acetone extract of A. sinicus L. seed might be a valuable antioxidant of natural source applicable in the medicine, cosmetics and the food industry.