Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds from wild and cultivated Sclerocarya birrea(Anacardiaceae) leaves.

A quantitative study of the phenolic constituents of wild and cultivated leaves of Sclerocarya birrea(Anacardiaceae) was carried out by HPLC-UV/PDA and LC-MS. Phytochemical analysis of the methanol extract of wild plants led to the isolation of one new flavonol glycoside, quercetin 3-O-alpha-l-(5' '-galloyl)-arabinofuranoside (1), and eight known phenolic compounds; two epicatechin derivatives were also isolated from the same extract of the cultivated species. The antioxidant activity of all isolated compounds was determined by measuring free radical scavenging effects using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay and the coupled oxidation of beta-carotene and linoleic acid (autoxidation assay).