The current trend in this field is the search for compounds derived from our vegetal species which have an anti-oxidant activity that is beneficial for human health. Colombia has a number of species known as field weeds (arvenses), like those of the Chromolaena genus, which are reported to have a high content of flavonoids. This study evaluated the anti-oxidant activity of extracts and fractions of the aerial parts of Chromolaena bullata plants found in the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá in Colombia, using the DPPH and ABTS.
For that purpose, extracts and fractions were obtained with the use of the Soxhlet method with solvents of different polarities of flowers and leaves. This study evaluated concentrations of 1, 10, 62.5, 100 and 250 mg of the extract or fraction per/ liter of MeOH, obtaining percentages for the capture of DPPH radicals of between 46.16 ± 0.7 and 92.21 ± 0.2, at 250 ppm, for the leaves, and between 46.19 ± 3.1 and 91.13 ± 0.3, at 250 mg/L of MeOH, for the flowers.
With the ABTS method, the range was between 90.14 ± 1.1 and 99.55 ± 0.2, at 250 mg/L of MeOH, for the leaves, and 64.65 ± 1.0 and 97.84 ± 0.6, at 250 mg/L, for the flowers. The study found that the methanolic fractions of flowers and leaves showed a high anti-oxidant activity when evaluated by the ABTS y DPPH techniques and that the ABTS showed a greater sensitivity.