DETERMINATION OF THE CONTENT IN USNIC ACID AND
POLYPHENOLS FROM THE EXTRACTS OF USNEA BARBATA L.
AND THE EVALUATION OF THEIR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY
VIOLETA POPOVICI 1#*, LAURA BUCUR 2#, ANTOANELA POPESCU 2#, AURELIANA CARAIANE 3#, VICTORIA BADEA 1#
¹Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Ovidius University Constanța, 7 Ilarie Voronca Street, Constanța, Romania
²Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ovidius University Constanța, University Street 1, Campus, Building
B, Constanța, Romania
3Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Ovidius University Constanța, 7 Ilarie Voronca Street,
Constanța, Romania
*corresponding author: popovicivioleta@gmail.com
#All authors contributed equally to this work
Download Full Article

Abstract:
The aim of this study was the identification and quantification of the main active compounds from different Romanian Usnea
barbata L. extracts and evaluation of their antioxidant activity. The vegetal product Usneae lichen was harvested from
Călimani Mountains, Suceava County, Romania, in March 2016. We prepared 10% extracts in: acetone, 96% ethanol and
water. The quantitative analysis of the identified constituents was performed using an HPLC method. The antioxidant activity
was evaluated by the scavenger DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method. For this analysis, we prepared 20% extracts
in: acetone, 96% ethanol and water. For each extract, we prepared two dilutions: 1:2 and 1:4. Our results showed that each
extract contains usnic acid and polyphenols. The intensity of the antioxidant activity varied with the different solubility of
polyphenols in each solvent.

Top