2.5. Antioxidant Activity by Free Radical Scavenging Ability Using a Stable DPPH Radical and ABTS Radical Cation

The antioxidant activity of the above stored extracts was determined by bleaching of the purple-coloured solution of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) according to the method of Teixeira et al. [28]. The total antioxidant activity was expressed as mg of Trolox/100 g of fresh plants. All experiments were conducted in triplicate.

The free radical scavenging capacity of extracts was also determined using the ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical cation decolorization assay, according to the procedure proposed by Cano et al. [29], slightly modified (n = 3). The initial absorbance value at λ 730 nm was then compared to the absorbance obtained after 20 min of reaction. The results were expressed as mg of Trolox/100 g of fresh plants.