Determination of free phenolic acids and antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts obtained from fruits and leaves of Chenopodium album.

In this study, determination of phenolic acids as well as investigation of antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts from the fruits and leaves of Chenopodium album is described. Extracts were subjected to acidic hydrolysis in order to obtain total free phenolic acids. However, some of phenolic acids were identified and quantified by HPLC-DAD. The results were confirmed by LC-MS equipped with MS-ESI. In addition, Folin-Ciocalteu method was applied to determine the total phenolic contents. The antioxidant activity of C. album extracts was examined by using DPPH and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity assays. Results revealed that the leaves extract exhibits better performance in antioxidant assays and in the higher total phenolic contents (3066mg of GAE/100g) when compared to fruits extract (1385mg of GAE/100g). From these results it has been revealed that the methanolic extracts of C. album from fruits and leaves have great potential as a source for natural health products.