[Antioxidant activity of tinctures prepared from hawthorn fruits and motherwort herb]. / Antioxidacní aktivita tinktur pripravených z hlohových plodu a nati srdecníku.

The paper aimed to determine and compare the antioxidant activity of two tinctures and selected flavonoids present in the tinctures. The tinctures were prepared from hawthorn fruits and motherwort herb. The group of selected flavonoids included rutin, quercetin, hyperosid, epicatechine, and procyanidin B2. Two methods were employed to determine antioxidant activities: the inhibition of peroxynitrite-induced nitration of tyrosine was measured, and the ability to quench radicals was examined by of the stable radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Both tinctures under study were able to quench radicals and reactive forms of oxygen and nitrogen. The motherwort herb tincture was more effective, but no direct effect of phenolic compounds on the extent of antioxidant activity was demonstrated. The total content of polyphenols in the motherwort herb tincture was higher by 163 %, nevertheless antiperoxynitrite activity was higher just by 19 % (p < 0.05), and the ability to reduce DPPH differed in both tinctures in a minimal manner. Of the individual flavonoids, the substances present in the tinctures in higher concentrations contributed most to antioxidant activity. In the hawthorn fruit tincture it was epicatechine and hyperosid, whereas in the motherwort herb tincture it was rutin.

[Liquid ginger extract: technology of production and quality evaluation]. / Tekutý zázvorový extrakt: technologie výroby a hodnocení jakosti.

The paper aimed to elaborate the technology of the production of a liquid ginger extract and to select and verify the methods of quality evaluation of the final preparation. The experiment revealed 70% ethanol as a suitable extraction agent. The optimal conditions for the development of an extract of good quality are established when the herbal drug is crushed to form particles passing through a sieve with a mesh size of 4000 microm, the extraction method is repercolation with the division of the charge of the drug in the relation 5:3:2, and the liquid flows from the percolator at a rate of 0.2ml/min/100 g of the drug. The presence of amino acids, saccharides, glycosides, reducing agents, phenolic substances, and alkaloids in the finished extract was demonstrated by means of colour or precipitation reactions. Thin-layer chromatography was employed to demonstrate gingerols and shogaols. Evaporation residue, ethanol concentration, and the amount of essential oils were determined quantitatively.