A NATURAL FLAVONOID ANTIOXIDANT ISOLATED FROM ALFALFA SEEDS
Abstract
Whole dried alfalfa seeds (Mendicago sativum L.) were investigated to determine the occurrence of a natural antioxidant. Antioxidant activity was measured using two carotene/linoleate autoxidizing systems. The first was a commonly used spectrophotometric method. The second was an agar plate method developed for rapid screening of compounds isolated in this study. Ethyl acetate:methanol fraction of the alfalfa seeds were found to possess potent antioxidant activity. Polyamide column and cellulose TLC were utilized to separate antioxidant components in the ethyl acetate:methanol extract. A fraction eluted with 100% methanol from polyamide column showed the highest activity. A rapid preparative method for the separation of flavonoids was developed. Attempts were made to obtain information on the chemical nature of the antioxidant present in alfalfa seeds. The U.V. and ('1)H-NMR spectrum of the isolated compound revealed that the antioxidant was a 3',4',3,5,7-pentahydroxyflavonol (Quercetin). Mutagenicity assays performed on E. coli (BR513) failed to show any activity.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Food science
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