Evidence of Possible Evolutionary Divergence in Plant Genera Based on Antioxidant Properties

Autor/inn/en	Asai, Elizabeth; Cao, Sharon
Titel	Evidence of Possible Evolutionary Divergence in Plant Genera Based on Antioxidant Properties
Quelle	In: NCSSSMST Journal, 14 (2009) 2, S.10-12 (3 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1084-6522
Schlagwörter	Plants (Botany); Microbiology; Radiation; Science Experiments; Comparative Analysis; Foreign Countries; Singapore; Virginia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Pflanze; Mikrobiologie; Strahlung; Ausland; Singapur
Abstract	The purpose of this investigation was to determine if three Western species of the Panax, Lycium, and Astragalus genera had antibacterial and/or antioxidant properties, and how their properties compared to Eastern herbs in the same genera. The group hypothesized that when compared, the corresponding herbs would have identical antibacterial and antioxidant properties. An antibacterial disc test was used to determine each herb's ability to inhibit the growth of "Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus." Herb and bacteria pairs which were not antibacterial were tested in a UV exposure test, a method used to qualify antioxidant properties. Mixtures of bacterial broth and herbal teas were exposed to UV light, and plated onto agar. Survival of the bacteria was observed. In addition, to determine if color of the herb impacted the protection of the bacteria, Nigrosin, a black stain, was tested under the same UV exposure procedure. In a DPPH test, the color change of the DPPH was used to calculate radical scavenging activity as a measure of antioxidant strength. The corresponding herbs' data were then compared. For the antibacterial test, only the known antibiotic control, Streptomycin, yielded a zone of inhibition. All of the herb and bacteria pairs showed antioxidant properties after UV exposure. The DPPH test found that the herb from the "Lycium" genus had the most radical scavenging activity, followed by the "Astragalus" and "Panax" genera. When compared to the data from Eastern species of these herbs, all three of the Western herbs were found to have greater antioxidant properties, especially in the Lycium genus. In the wolfberry trials, the Eastern wolfberry had a radical scavenging activity of 65.0% and the Western herb had 93.1% scavenging activity (Har & Seetoh, 2008). (Contains 1 table.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10