ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To establish a method to determine three main flavones in the extract of rhizomes and frond bases of Matteuccia struthiopteris and evaluate the antioxidative activity of the extract. METHODS: The contents of the flavones in the extract were determined by HPLC. Kromasil C18 column was used. Methanol-0.1% orthophosphoric acid solution (70:30) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.00 mL· min-1. The detection wavelength was set at 295 nm and the column temperature was 40°C. The antioxidative activity of the extract was detected by DPPH free radical scavenging assay. IC50 (the antioxidant concentration for scavenging half of DPPH radical) was used as the index to evaluate scavenging capacity. RESULTS: The calibration curves of demethoxymatteucinol, matteucinol, and matteuorien showed good linearity over the ranges of 0.058 - 0.58, 0.045 - 0.45, and 0.003 - 0.028 mg· mL-1 (r = 0.9998, 0.9998, 0.9983), respectively. The average recoveries were 96.93%, 97.15%, and 96.41%, respectively. The IC50 value of the extract of rhizomes and frond bases of Matteuccia struthiopteris was 0.55 mg· mL-1. CONCLUSION: The quantitative determination method with good accuracy, repeatability and stability is suitable for the quality control of the extract of rhizomes and frond bases of Matteuccia struthiopteris. The extract has potential antioxidative action.