Phytochemical characteristics
and antioxidant activities of the crude
and fractionated plant extractsof
Anoectochilus formosanus were evaluated using five different assay systems. An acid-treatment(2 N HCl in 95% ethanol) was employed to treat a butanol fraction (BuOH), creating an acid-hydrolyzedBuOH fraction. The IC
50 values for DPPH radicals in the BuOH
and acid-hydrolyzed BuOH fractionswere 0.521
and 0.021 mg/mL, respectively. The acid-hydrolyzed BuOH exhibited approximately 5-foldhigher activity in scavenging superoxide anion than catechin. The acid-hydrolyzed BuOH fractionalso effectively protected
![](/images/gifchars/phi.gif)
x174 supercoiled DNA against str
and cleavage induced by H
2O
2 andreduced oxidative stress in HL-60 cells. Metabolite profiling showed that the aglycones of flavonoidglycosides in BuOH were produced after acid hydrolytic treatment,
and this resulted in a significantincrease in antioxidant activities of acid-hydrolyzed BuOH. One new diarylpentanoid, kinsenone,
andthree known flavonoid glycosides
and their derivatives were identified for the first time from
A.formosanus, with strong antioxidant properties.Keywords:
Anoectochilus formosanus; antioxidant activity; acid treatment; flavonoid glycosides