Antioxidant activities of Chaenomeles sinensis ( Touin) Koehne

The antioxidant activity of Chaenomeles sinensis ( Touin) Koehne leaves and fruits was evaluated by three methods: DPPH radical scavenging, ABTS radical scavenging and FRAP assay, and the relation of the antioxidant activity and total polyphenols and flavonoids was studied.In six extracts of the leaves and fruits, the ethyl acetate extract of C. sinensis leaves had the best ABTS radical scavenging ( IC50 was 6.66μg /mL) and ferric reducing antioxidant power ( TEAC was 1293.25μmol /g) , which were similar to the positive control BHT ( IC50 was 6.56μg /mL) and ferric reducing antioxidant power was lower than that of BHT ( TEAC was 2503.17μmol /g) . The ethyl acetate extract of C.sinensis fruits exhibited the highest free radical scavenging activity ( IC50 was 48.99μg /mL) , but it was still inferior to positive control BHT ( IC50 was 24.49μg /mL) . ABTS radical scavenging activity and Ferric reducing antioxidant power of ethyl acetate extract of C.sinensis leaves might be related to its high flavonoids content and polyphenols content, and DPPH radical scavenging activity of ethyl acetate extract of C. sinensis fruits might be so.