Hye Ryung Kang

Reactive oxygen species scavenging activities of naturally occurring colorants

Twenty-five kinds of plant extract used as natural dyeing agents were tested for their reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activities using several assay systems. Among plant extracts examined in this study the hot water extracts from logwood, wattle, pomegranate, dragon’s blood, and quebracho showed relatively strong antioxidant activity. In particular, the pigments extracted from pomegranate and wattle effectively suppressed intracellular generation of ROS induced by hydrogen peroxide in mouse hepatoma hepa1c1c7 cells as well as showed a strong oxygen radical scavenging activity in in vitro assay systems, suggesting their potential usefulness as health functional food ingredients and natural food colorants.