ABSTRACT
Aim To study the in vitro and in vivo an-tioxidant activity of Inula nervosa wall. in order to le-gitimately use the resources of I. nervosa. Methods The medicinal ingredients of aboveground and under-ground parts of I. nervosa were extracted by different extraction methods. Ultrasonic extractions from differ-ent parts were compared by their in vitro and in vivo antioxidant effects. Results Ultrasound alcohol ex-traction had the highest content of total phenols and fla-vonoids, with the content of total phenolics much high-er than that of total flavonoids. Ultrasound alcohol ex-tractions had very good scavenging effect on DPPH, ABTS and superoxide anion radical, with the extraction from underground part more effective than extraction from aboveground part. Ultrasound alcohol extractions significantly increased the level of catalase ( CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capaci-ty (T-AOC), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activi-ty and decreased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver, kidney and serum in drenching aging mice. The antioxidant activity of high concentration of the ex-traction from aerial part was equivalent to that of low concentration of the extraction from underground part. Conclusions Ultrasound alcohol extractions of I. ner-vosa have very good scavenging effect on free radicals, which indicates good antioxidant ability. Antioxidant activity of underground part is much stronger than that of the aboveground part.