DPPH radical scavenging activity
The antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) [7] .
Samples for testing were dissolved in absolute ethanol or distilled water to obtain the highest
concentration of 200 μg/ml. Each sample was further diluted for at least 4 concentrations (twofold
dilutions). Each concentration was tested in triplicate. A portion of the sample solution (100
μl) was mixed with an equal volume of 6 x 10-5 M DPPH (in absolute ethanol) and allowed to
stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. The absorbance (A) was then measured at 520 nm.
BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), a well known synthetic antioxidant, was used as a positive
standard. The scavenging activity of the samples is the ability to reduce the color intensity of
DPPH. Inhibition (%) was calculated using the following equation.
% inhibition = [(A control – A sample)/A control] x 100
All tests were determined in triplicate. EC50 values (effective concentration of sample
required to scavenge DPPH radical by 50%) was calculated from the Prism program.