Phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of some medicinal plants' crude juices

Leaves of fig, guava, olive and pomegranate and peels of ripe pomegranate fruits were mechanically pressed to obtain the crude juices. The resultant crude juices were subjected to the estimation of certain phytochemicals, i.e. total phenols, flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanins by HPLC. The assessment of their antioxidant activities were performed by three methods, i.e. DPPH, reducing power and metal chelating assays. The results indicated that the amounts of polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanins in crude pomegranate peels juices were markedly higher than those of other medicinal plants crude juices. The polyphenolic constituents in fig leaves, pomegranate leaves and peels, guava leaves and olive leaves were distinguished using HPLC. The major compounds found in all crude juices were gallic acid, ellagic acid, naringenin, ferulic acid and methyl gallate, respectively. Pomegranate peels crude juice exhibited the highest antioxidant activity assessed by the aforementioned methods in comparison with other medicinal plants crude juices.