Total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity of extracts from different populations of lavandin

• Total phenols and flavonoid contents varied among lavandin populations.
• Antioxidant activities of the extracts from lavandin populations by two assays were evaluated.
• Lavandin accessions are potential sources of natural antioxidants.

Plants naturally are a rich source of secondary metabolites and novel therapeutic compounds. These compounds are well known for their various beneficial effects on human health. In this study, variation in total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities (DPPH radical-scavenging and β-carotene bleaching assays) of methanol extracts from the inflorescence parts of 30 lavandin populations collected from western Iran was studied. Results indicated that there were significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among populations for total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Total phenolic content varied from 31.45 to 105.39 (mg GAE/100 g dry wt), and total flavonoid content ranged from 71.62 to 28.19 (mg QE/100 g dry matters). Furthermore, results of the antioxidant activities by both methods indicated that the extracts have good antioxidant activities. Results obtained in this study revealed that there is an antioxidant potential of the extracts variability among the populations of lavandin. In conclusion, variability among the populations of lavandin for total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant potential in both assays can be used in selection programs for production of lavandin with suppressing antioxidant activity.