The effect of extraction method on antioxidant activity of Atractylis babelii Hochr. leaves and flowers extracts

In this study, leaves and flowers of Atractylis babelii were chosen to investigate their antioxidant activities. Thus, a comparison between the antioxidant properties of ethanolic crude extracts obtained by two extraction methods, maceration and soxhlet extraction, was performed using two different tests; DPPH and ABTS radical assays. Besides, total polyphenol, flavonoid and condensed tannin contents were determined in leaves and flowers of Atractylis babelii by colorimetric methods. The results showed that there was no correlation between phenolic contents of plant parts and their antioxidant activity. Whereas, leaves and flowers of Atractylis babelii showed that both had almost similar phenolic contents, while their antioxidant activity depended on the plant parts. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of plant parts was also depended on extraction method. Such a result may be likely ascribed to a variety of chemical composition can be found in Atractylis babelii extracts which has been related to its antioxidant properties.