Exploring in vitro antioxidant activity of Allium ursinum and Alliaria petiolata through various analytical methods

The antioxidant activity of Allium ursinum (AU) and Alliaria petiolata (AP) extracts (leaves, flowers, roots and bulb), two native plants from the spontaneous flora of the Macinului Mountains, were investigated for radical scavenging activity. Classical assays-reducing power (RP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC), as well as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging assays, reactive species involved in oxidative stress, were employed alongside electrochemical methods to assess the the antioxidant capacity of extracts.. The highest DPPH inhibition was 65.69% in AU flowers and 64.23% in AP roots. RP values ranged from 0.45 to 1.367, while TEAC results varied, indicating differences in phenolic and flavonoid content of extracts. Electrochemical analysis via cyclic voltammetry (CV) and the electrochemical index (EI) suggested superior antioxidant activity in AU, compared with AP. The EI, determined for dried and lyophilized leaf extracts, strongly correlated with classical antioxidant assays (Pearson >0.998), confirming the reliability of electrochemical approaches. These findings highlight the potential of AU and AP as antioxidant sources, supporting their use in gastronomy and medical applications.