Research Information System
Italian Journal of Food Science, vol.16, no.1, pp.17-30, 2004 (SCI-Expanded)
Water and ethanol extracts of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) florets were studied for the following in vitro antioxidant properties: total antioxidant activity, reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and metal chelating activities. Both extracts exhibited strong total antioxidant activity. The concentrations of 20, 40, and 60 μg/mL of the water and ethanol extracts of broccoli showed 74, 83, 91 and 87, 94 and 99% inhibition of peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. Controls at a concentration of 60 μg/mL of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and α-tocopherol exhibited 97, 99, and 61% inhibition of peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. Both extracts of broccoli florets displayed effective reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and metal chelating activities at 20, 40, and 60 μg/mL. Total phenolic compounds in both broccoli floret extracts were determined as gallic acid equivalents and found to show no correlation with the antioxidant activities of the extracts.