Impact of removal of micro and nano sized particles on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity: Study on aqueous and methanolic leaves extracts of Phlomis crinita

The results showed that removal of microparticles don't affect the properties of extracts, whereas the nanoparticles contributed much in the content of total phenolics and antioxidant potencies of both extracts. The highest impact of nanoparticles removal on antioxidant activity was observed in methanolic extract losing 72% of β-carotene bleaching inhibition and four-doubled its IC50 index. These findings suggest that nano sized particles are the nature's store of bioactive constituents in herbal extracts, therefore their retention is highly recommended to preserve the totality of antioxidant capacities.