RESEARCH OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF SOME INTRODUCED SPECIES OF THE GENUS CRATAEGUS L.

Abstract

The article presents studies on determination the antioxidant activity of fruit, shoots, flowers and leaves of three unofficial hawthorn species ‒ Crataegus pennsylvanica Ashe, Crataegus prunifolia (Marsh.) Pers., Crataegus macracantha L.

Material and methods. The studies were carried out by the spectrophotometric method. Antioxidant activity of hawthorn was determined by a technique based on the ability of the test solution to inhibit the autoxidation of adrenaline in vitro and thereby prevent the formation of reactive oxygen species. The antioxidant activity of various morphological groups of plant raw material (fruit, shoots, flowers and leaves) of C. pennsylvanica, C. prunifolia, C. macracantha was studied, and a comparative analysis of their water and alcohol extracts was carried out.

Results. According to the experiment conducted, all the studied extracts have antioxidant activity (more than 10%). The highest antioxidant activity was observed in C. pennsylvanica, especially in the infusion of leaves (68.00±1.07)%, and the lowest in the C. prunifolia fruit tincture (24.10±0.59)%.

Conclusion. The antioxidant activity of leaves, flowers, and shoots turned out to be higher than that of fruit of the studied species, therefore, further study of shoots of C. pennsylvanica, C. prunifolia, C. macracantha is promising.