Total antioxidant capacities and reduction of ferric ions by extracts of three medicinal plants and their fractions

Introduction: Medicinal plants belong to Lamiaceae family are potential sources of new drugs to improve the treatment of diseases which its treatment is linked to anti-oxidative agents. In this paper, antioxidant potentials of some Lamiaceae species have been evaluated by two methods. Methods: phosphomolybdate assay for total antioxidant capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) were used for evaluation of the antioxidant potentials of Zataria multiflora, Otostegia Persica and Salvia mirzayanii extracts and their fractions. Results: The extracts and their fractions showed noteworthy activities in all antioxidant assays which compared to the reference antioxidant, ascorbic acid in a dose dependent manner. In FRAP method, ethyl acetate fraction of Salvia mirzayanii (SMA) and petroleum ether fraction of otostegia persica (OPP) possessed the highest and the lowest antioxidant potentials, respectively. In total antioxidant capacity, butanol fraction of Zataria multiflora and chloroform fraction of Otostegia persica were the in activist and the activist samples, respectively. Conclusion: These results may show that these plants act as free radicals scavengers and antioxidant compounds.