Determination of antioxidant and radical scavenging activity of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L. Family Lamiaceae) assayed by different methodologies.

The antioxidant properties of plants have been investigated, in the light of recent scientific developments, throughout the world due to their potent pharmacological activities and food viability. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L. Family Lamiaceae) is used as a kitchen herb and as an ornamental plant in house gardens. In the present study, the possible radical scavenging and antioxidant activity of the water (WEB) and ethanol extracts (EEB) of basil was investigated using different antioxidant methodologies: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, scavenging of superoxide anion radical-generated non-enzymatic system, ferric thiocyanate method, reducing power, hydrogen peroxide scavenging and metal chelating activities. Experiments revealed that WEB and EEB have an antioxidant effects which are concentration-dependent. The total antioxidant activity was performed according to the ferric thiocyanate method. At the 50 microg/mL concentration, the inhibition effects of WEB and EEB on peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion were found to be 94.8% and 97.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the percentage inhibition of a 50 microg/mL concentration of BHA, BHT and alpha-tocopherol was found to be 97.1%, 98.5% and 70.4% inhibition of peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion, respectively. In addition, WEB and EEB had effective DPPH radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, reducing power and metal chelating activities. Additionally, these various antioxidant activities were compared with BHA, BHT and alpha-tocopherol as reference antioxidants. The additional total phenolic content of these basil extracts was determined as the gallic acid equivalent and were found to be equivalent.