Towards further understanding on the antioxidative activities of Prunus persica fruit: a comparative study with four different fractions.

In the present study we have evaluated the antioxidant activities of different fractions (hexane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and aqueous fractions) of Prunus persica fruit. For extraction simple warring blender method was employed and total phenolic and flavonoid contents were correlated with different antioxidant activities (total antioxidant, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), H2O2 scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, iron chelating and their reducing power properties). Different in vitro antioxidant studies showed that ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions had the maximum activities that were well correlated with total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Maximum yield (25.14±2.2%) was obtained in its aqueous fraction. Both ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed significant inhibitory effects on different antioxidant activities. A significantly high correlation coefficient existed between total antioxidant activities and with total phenolic as well as total flavonoid contents. It appears that ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions of P. persica may serve as new potential sources of natural antioxidants and could be of therapeutic use in treating several diseases.