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

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Robson Miranda da Gama, Marcelo Guimarães, Luiz Carlos de Abreu, José Armando-Junior
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2014
• Subjects: Antioxidant activity; Phytochemical screening; Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl) A. Gray; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.12980/APJTB.4.2014APJTB-2014-0055; https://doaj.org/article/7f4d11afc9564ed085ddef9119c16544

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.