Abstract:The purpose of this study was to investigate the proportion of the main active components and in vitro activity of the extracts of 10 wild vegetables. The extracts of wild vegetables were obtained by hot water recirculation with methanol, and the total flavonoid content and total phenolic content were estimated by the AlCl3 colorimetric method and Folin’s reagent, respectively. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated by determining their reducing capacity, free-radical scavenging activity, and metal chelating ability. The main flavonoid and phenolic content of the extracts were determined by using HPLC. Significant difference was found in content of flavonoids and phenols of the extracts. Sonchus oleraceus showed the highest total flavonoid content of (85.69±2.33) mg/g, and Perilla frutescens showed the highest total phenol content of (151.57±3.96) mg/g. Toona sinensis showed the highest scavenging ability using the DPPH method. P. frutescens showed the highest reducing power. Lamium barbatum showed the highest metal chelating activity. The extracts contained abundant botanical secondary metabolites such as flavonoids and phenols. These vegetables can serve as good sources of natural antioxidants. It can be concluded that phenol is a main contributor to the antioxidant activity of the extracts.
