J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci., 4(11S)54-58, 2015 © 2015, TextRoad Publication ISSN: 2090-4274 Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences www.textroad.com * Corresponding Author: Ahmadreza Naghavi Azad, M. Sc Student, Department of Food Science & Technology, Quchan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Quchan, Iran. E-mail: naghavy_a@yahoo.com, Phenolic Contents and Antioxidants Activity from Aerial Parts of phlomis herba-venti L. subsp. Kopetdaghensis Ahmadreza Naghavi Azad 1* , Vahid Hakimzadeh 2 , Ebrahim Golmakani 3 1 M. Sc Student, Department of Food Science & Technology, Quchan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Quchan, Iran 2 Department of Food Science & Technology, Quchan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Quchan, Iran 3 Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Received: October 29, 2014 Accepted: December 31, 2014 ABSTRACT Antioxidants are important in reducing heart disease and could prevent damage to DNA in human. Many synthetic antioxidant components have toxic and/or mutagenic effects, which have attracted most of the attention on the natural source of antioxidants. Plants are sources of natural antioxidant because they contain Phenolic compounds such as Phenolic acid, flavonoids, tannins and anthocyanins. This study aimed to evaluate Phenolic content and antioxidant activity from aerial parts of phlomis herba-venti L. subsp. Kopetdaghensis. Total Phenolic content of methanol, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and antioxidant activity using 2, 2’-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay. The amount of total Phenolic contents of the methanol, ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts were 157.65, 15.25 and 13.61 mg gallic acid equivalent in 100gr dry weight of plant. In this study, none of extracts showed antioxidant activity as high as positive controls (BHT and vitamin C). The methanol extract of phlomis herba-venti was better to all the extracts tested and it had the lowest IC50, while the dichloromethane extract had the highest IC50. The results showed that the methanol extract of phlomis herba-venti has a potential source of natural antioxidants and could use in medicine and food production. KEY WORDS: extraction, Phenolic content, antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging, phlomis herba-venti L. subsp. Kopetdaghensis INTRODUCTION Lipids are one of the most chemically unstable food components and will easily undergo free-radical chain reactions that not only deteriorate the lipids but also generate oxidative fragments, some of which are volatile and are known as the off-flavors of rancidity. Also oxidation may cause degradation of proteins, vitamins and pigments and cross-linking of lipids and other macromolecules into non-nutritive polymers. On the other hand, free radicals are known to cause aging, coronary heart disease, inflammation, stroke, diabetes mellitus and cancer. Antioxidants are added to food to reduce the rate of oxidation and make them last longer and prevent them from rancidity [1]. Synthetic antioxidants, such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propylgallate (PG) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), are commercially available and typically used. However, there are concerns about their safety and toxicity in food industry [2]. Therefore, research on alternative antioxidants from natural sources has been considered. The phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids and tannins), nitrogenous compounds (alkaloids, amino acids, peptides, amines and chlorophyll byproducts), carotenoids, tocopherol and ascorbic acid are the most important natural antioxidants. [3]. Plants are rich sources of natural antioxidants because they contain phenolic compounds such as Phenolic acid, flavonoids, tannins, and Phenolic diterpenes. In recent years, much attention has been focused on Phenolic antioxidants from different types of plant materials [4]. The genus Phlomis, perennial herbs of the family Lamiaceace, consists of more than 100 species distributed in Africa, Asia and Europe. In Iran, 17 species have already been recorded. Phlomis species are used for treatment of various diseases such as diabetes, gastric ulcer, hemorrhoids, inflammation, and wounds. The essential oil of phlomisis composed of four chemo types dominated by monoterpenes (α-pinene, limonene and linalool), sesquiterpenes (germacrene D and β-caryophyllene), aliphalic compounds (9, 12, 15-octadecatrienoic acid methyl ester), fatty acids (hexadecanoic acid) and other components (trans-phytol, 9, 12, 15-octadecatrien-1-ol). Flavonoids, iridoids and phenylethyl alcohol constitute the main compounds isolated from phlomis extracts. Antidiabetic, antinociceptive, antiulcerogenic, protection of the vascular system, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of some phlomis species have been reported [5]. 54