Antioxidant Activities of Plunus mume flower buds Extract by Various Solvents

This study investigated the antioxidant activities of distilled water, ethanol and methanol extracts of Plunus mume flower buds (PFB). The various solvent extracts of PFB were evaluated for their total polyphenol, flavonoid, reducing power and free radical scavenging activities by FRAP and DPPH analysis. The ethanol extract of PFB contained significantly higher amounts of total polyphenols (145 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (25.43 mg QE/g) than methanol (132 and 25.42) and distilled water (113.6 and 18.04). Among solvent extracts of PFB, the ethanol extract showed the highest antioxidant activities. The 100% ethanol extract of PFB contained significantly higher amounts of total polyphenols and flavonoids than 70% and 50% ethanol extracts. Moreover, the 100% ethanol extract of PFB showed high efficacy in DPPH radical scavenging activity and in collagenase inhibition activity. This results suggest that 100% ethanol extract of PFB has the most effective antioxidant capacity compared to the methanol and water extracts tested in the present study. Thus, it can be applied for the effective extraction of functional material from PFB for usage of cosmeceutical and/or food industries.