Antioxidative Activity of the Extracts from the Leaves and Fruits of Acer ginnala

The antioxidative effect of the extracts from the leaves and fruits of Acer ginnala against free radicals was studied by two different methods using DPPH radical-generating system, and hydroxyl radical-generating system $(Cu^{++}/H_2O_2\;system)$ which induces DNA strand breaking. Compared with well known antioxidative plants, green tea, Scutellaria baicalensis, the Acer ginnala extracts showed excellent radical-scavenging activity in DPPH radical-generating system and inhibited effectively hydroxyl radical induced-DNA strand breaking in a concentration-dependent manner in $Cu^{++}/H_2O_2$ system whereas the green tea extract stimulated the strand breaking at a low concentration. These results suggest that he extracts from the leaves and fruits of Acer ginnula could be good antioxidative agents.