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Hilda Zulaica-Villagomez, David M. Peterson, Lauri Herrin, Raymond A. Young
Antioxidant activity of different components of pine species
Keywords: antioxidant activity, juvenile pine cones, phenolic content, pine cones, pine needles
The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of extracts from pine species were evaluated for various plant components, with emphasis on the seed cones. Seed cones from pine species were found to contain relatively high amounts of both total phenolics and antioxidant activity, and there appears to be some correlation of the two measurements. Juvenile cones contained by far the highest phenolic and antioxidant activity, but this high activity appears to be related to seeds retained in some of the samples, possibly due to the presence of proteins or additional antioxidants in the seeds. The phenolic content and antioxidant activity were also measured for other plant components and for a few other species for comparison. In general, the cones of red and jack pine exhibited the highest antioxidant activity compared to black and southern pines. The general trend for both total phenolics and antioxidant activity was (highest to lowest): juvenile cones>needles>new cones> bark>old cones>wood. Obviously, cones could represent a viable source of antioxidants, especially compared to the wood of species that had comparatively low activity. Collection and extraction of pine cones for antioxidants would be a non-destructive method for procurement of this medicinal aid.
Holzforschung, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 0018-3830
Volume: 59, 02/2005
Pages: 156 - 162