Free radical scavenging activity of extracts from Bulgarian Veronica officinalis L. and GC-MS analysis of ethanol extract

The antioxidant activities of MeOH and EtOH extracts and EtOAc fraction of EtOH extract from Veronica officinalis were carried out using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) in vitro assays. The antioxidant potential measurements were expressed as Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). The EtOAc fraction showed the highest radical scavenging activity in both DPPH and ABTS methods: 2.43 mmol/g and 1.69 mmol/g TEAC, respectively. Total phenolic content was also determined. It was the greatest for EtOAc fraction (318.83mg GAE/g extract) and a strong positive correlation was observed between phenolic content and antioxidant activity. In addition, the chemical composition of EtOH extract was examined by GC-MS analysis. 26 compounds were established and s-sitosterol was the major constituent (13.03 %), followed by palmitic acid (11.05 %) and terpinen-4-ol (8.96 %). Two essential fatty acids (EFAs), linoleic acid (6.85 %) and α-linolenic acid (4.07 %) were also presented.