Phytochemical investigation and antioxidant activity of Milk thistle fruit Silybum marianum (L) Gaernt. grown in Dak Lak

Abstract

    In Viet Nam, the production of hepatitis treatment drugs from silymarin extracted from Asteraceae fruit mainly imports raw materials from abroad. This study compared the chemical composition of Asteraceae grown in Dak Lak province with that grown worldwide, then evaluated the development potential and planning of local growing areas. The process of extraction, isolation (column chromatography and thin layer chromatography), structure determination (NMR spectroscopy) and antioxidant activity testing (IC50 determination of DPPH free radical scavenging activity) of the isolated substance from Milk thistle fruit. The results isolated three compounds, including silybin A, B (100 mg), quercetin (50 mg) from dichloromethane extract (17.60 g), and isoquercitrin (30 mg) from ethyl acetate extract (8.54 g). The antioxidant activity of the compounds including quercetin, silybin A, B and isoquercitrin was investigated through DPPH scavenging activity with IC50 values of (2,42; 6,82; 8,62) µg/mL, respectively. The present study contributed to enhance the use value and orient further studies on this species in Viet Nam.