Antioxidant activity of Buglossoides purpureocaerulea (L.) I.M. Johnst. extracts.

Buglossoides purpureocaerulea is a little-known plant used in the folk tradition for the preparation of a decoction in Sud, Italy, where it is appreciated for its beneficial effects on liver diseases. These properties may be due to the presence of antioxidant compounds. This study presents the phenolic characterisation and the antioxidant activity (AA) of B. purpureocaerulea extracts obtained by decoction, ethanol infusion and ethanol and methanol macerations. Total phenols ranged between 69 and 100 mg g(-1 ) dry weight (DW). The main compounds were: rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, lithospermic acid and salvianolic acid C. The extracts showed a good AA, particularly high for the decoction (142-283 µmol TE g(-1) DW; TE, Trolox equivalent) and ethanol maceration extract (214-364 µmol TE g(-1) DW) when determined by DPPH and ferric reducing antioxidant power test, respectively.