Effect of Astragalus sinicus L. seed extract on antioxidant activity

Antioxidant activity of various extracts of Astragalus sinicus L. seed was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Among the various extracts, the acetone extract showed the maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity of 95.1% at 10.0 mg/mL, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of 89.4% at 15 mg/mL, and superoxide anion scavenging activity of 74.5% at 15 mg/mL. The inhibition of xanthine oxidase and chelating effect at 10.0 mg/mL of acetone extract were found to be 95.1 and 93.2%, respectively. The concentrations of total phenolic and flavonoide were, respectively, 279.9 and 175.2 mg/g in the acetone extract, about 4.1 and 3.4 times higher than those of the water extract. When the administered concentration of acetone extract was 5.0 g/kg/body weight/day in rats, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activities of the liver were increased approximately 50% compared to those of the control groups. These results suggest that the acetone extract of A. sinicus L. seed might be a valuable antioxidant of natural source applicable in the medicine, cosmetics and the food industry.