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Context: Bombax malabaricum DC. (Bombacaceae) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine used for the treatment of inflammatory conditions, diarrhea, fever, chronic inflammation, catarrhal affection, and as a diuretic. However, little information is available about its antioxidative activity. Objective: Water, 50% ethanol, and 80% acetone extracts from flowers of B. malabaricum were investigated for their in vitro antioxidant activity in this article for the first time. Then the relationships between antioxidant activity measured by different methods and total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were established. Materials and methods: The antioxidant activities of extracts from B. malabaricum flower were investigated including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), reducing power, and inhibition on phosphatidylcholine liposome peroxidation. Results: Results showed that all the extracts possessed remarkable antioxidant capacity compared with ascorbic or gallic acids. Total antioxidant activities evaluated by ORAC assay of different extracts ranged from 700.03 to 1482.46 μμmol Trolox equivalents/g. The highest TPC of 130.38 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g was observed in 80% acetone extract, whereas the lowest TPC of 57.09 mg GAE/g was obtained in the water extract. Furthermore, TFC exhibited significant ( P < 0.05) positive correlations with DPPH radical-scavenging activity, ORAC, and reducing power. Discussion and conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the flowers of B. malabaricum have excellent antioxidant activities and thus might be a potential source of natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]