Phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of ethanol extract of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray dry flowers

• Main Authors: Robson Miranda da Gama, Marcelo Guimarães, Luiz Carlos de Abreu, José Armando-Junior
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2014-09-01
• Series: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Subjects: Antioxidant activity; Phytochemical screening; Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115300988

Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant activity of extracts of dried flowers of Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray (T. diversifolia) dry flower-a shrubby plant belonging to the Asteraceae family and very common in Brazil, providing data to help prevent premature aging skin. Methods: The tests of phytochemical screening included total phenols, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins. The active antioxidant was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl method. Results: The phytochemical screening of T. diversifolia dry flowers revealed the presence of phenolic compounds (tannins, flavonoids and total phenols), while alkaloids and saponins were not detected. The IC50 values showed a strong antioxidant activity of the plant extracts. Conclusions: Therefore, this study suggests the possibility of using dry flowers extracts of T. diversifolia for the prevention of cell aging, as was shown to have significant antioxidant activity.