FARMACIA, 2015, Vol. 63, 2 267 ORIGINAL ARTICLE ASSESSMENT OF ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY OF SOME EXTRACTS FOR FURTHER USE IN THERAPY LAURA VICAȘ 1 , ALIN TEUȘDEA 2 , SIMONA VICAȘ 2 *, ELEONORA MARIAN 1 , JURCA TUNDE 1 , MARIANA MUREȘAN 1 , FELICIA GLIGOR 3 1 University of Oradea, Medicine and Pharmacy Faculty, Oradea, Romania 2 University of Oradea, Faculty of Environmental Protection, Oradea, Romania 3 University Lucian Blaga Sibiu, The Faculty of Medicine, Sibiu, Romania *corresponding author: sim_vicas@yahoo.com Manuscript received: May 2014 Abstract Salviae and Plantago species are plants known as having antioxidant effects. The aim of the study was to compare in vitro the antioxidant capacity of these medicinal plants from two different areas of Romania (Bihor and Arad counties) in order to use it in the future in the field of pharmacology and medicine. An UV-Vis spectra fingerprint (250-800 nm) of ethanol extracts from Salviae and Plantago species was recorded in order to establish the maximum absorption, specifically bioactive compounds. The bioactive compounds from those two extracts, polyphenols types were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and the total flavonoids have been determined through a spectrophotometric method. Antioxidant capacity of the extracts was evaluated by the following methods: DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-Azinobis [3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid]-diammonium salt) and FRAP (the Ferric reducing antioxidant power). The results shown, that Salviae species are rich in polyphenols, while Plantago is rich in flavonoids being a good reason for their association. Rezumat Speciile de Salviae și Plantago sunt plante cunoscute ca având efecte antioxidante. Scopul lucrării a fost acela de a evalua capacitatea antioxidantă a acestora prin studiul comparativ a două surse vegetale din două zone diferite din România. Prin asocierea lor se poate realiza o formulă de suplimente nutritive cu rol protector celular. Extractelor vegetale li s-a trasat un spectru UV-VIS pentru a evidenţia domeniile în care absorb diverşii compuşi bioactivi. Speciile bioactive din cele două extracte au fost evidențiate, cele de tipul polifenolilor totali au fost determinate prin metoda Folin-Ciocâlteu, iar flavonoidele totale au fost determinate printr-o metodă spectrofotometrică. Capacitatea antioxidantă a extractelor a fost evaluată prin următoarele metode: DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-Azinobis [3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid]- diammonium salt) şi FRAP (the Ferric reducing antioxidant power). Rezultatele obţinute au demonstrat că speciile de Salviae sunt mai bogate în polifenoli, iar cele de Plantago sunt bogate în flavonoide, fiind un bun argument pentru asocierea lor. Keywords: antioxidant, polyphenols, Plantago sp., Salviae sp. Introduction Some food products contain compounds with antioxidant activity. In recent years the studies have shown that the widespread use of synthetic antioxidants in food can damage the health status of people. Searching for compounds that can be used as natural additives and antioxidant, researchers’ attention turned to plant foods. Many sources of antioxidants of plant origin have been studied in recent years and identified as potential antioxidants. Their effect is due to the presence of hydroxyl groups in their chemical structure [7]. Considering the antioxidant capacity of Salviae and Plantago species, we have aimed the evaluation of their activity comparatively, using two different plant sources, from two different areas of Romania, with the possibility of associating them in nutritional supplements formulas with cell protecting role. For this purpose, we have applied the method for determining the scavenger action of diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radicals after establishing the total polyphenols content for two extracts obtained from two species of Salviae and Plantago. Materials and Methods Preparing the herbal extracts Two medicinal species were studied, each having their antioxidant efficiency demonstrated after their extracts were prepared. The studied species were Salviae sp. and Plantago sp. from different and unpopulated geographical areas of Bihor and Arad counties. Thus, two samples were obtained for each species, noted S1 (Salviae sp. – Bihor), S2 (Salviae