THE EFFECTS OF OPTIMIZATION METHODS ON THE DETERMINATION OF TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY IN SOME PLANTS

Abstract

Phytochemical properties and prophylaxis of medicinal plants in alternative medicine applications have been emphasized in many studies. Antioxidants are effective particularly in terminating chain reactions, which are caused by free radicals formed during metabolic activity reactions. The elution of these components is usually carried out with solvent-extraction procedure. In this study, it was aimed to measure total antioxidant capacities (TAC) of Equisetum arvense and Lycopodium clavatum plant species that grown in Turkey, using different methods with infusion, boiling and methanol extracts. It was observed that TAC of the extracts prepared by the magnetic stirrer obtained higher yields compared to other methods but there was no statistically significant difference. In temperature studies, the most efficient results for TAC values were determined at 100 degrees C degrees and statistically significant differences were determined (p<0.001). It was observed that the amount of TAC decreased statistically after 10 minutes in the optimum time determination study (p<0.001). For this reason, extractions were carried out at 100 degrees C for 10 minutes. Consequently, it can be said that the amount of TAC of these plant species using alternative medicine and agriculture is better with the applied optimization methods. These methods can be used in agricultural, enviroment and pharmaceutical active substance studies.