Plants collected from Limpopo province of South Africa were investigated for their antioxidative potential using the
DPPH radical scavenging assay. Acetone extracts of
Flueggea virosa
had the highest antioxidant activity with an IC
50 value of 30
μg/ml, closely matching the ascorbic acid with an IC
50 value of 25 μg/ml. The lowest antioxidant readings were observed with
extracts of
Rhynchosia venulosa
(root extract) and
Ficus ingens
(leaf extract). Acetone extract of
Bridelia virosa
leaves had the
highest phenolic content (156 mg GAE/g extract), while the lowest content was recorded for
R. venulosa root extract and leaf
extract of
F. ingens (8.3 and 17.7 mg GAE/g extract, respectively). There was a linear correlation between antioxidant activity
and total phenolic content. Extracts with high phenolic content had low IC
50 values, while extracts with low phenolic
concentrations had high IC
50 values.
