Studying of the Antioxidant Capacity of Sweet Wormwood ( <i>Artemisia annua</i> L.)
Annotatsiya
Abstract In the last years, the research on the sweet wormwood ( Artemisia annua L.) has increasingly become the focus of oncology science. The bioactive ingredient of the plant is artemisinin, which has been proven to be effective in the treatment of malaria. At the same time, Hungarian and international research groups are also investigating the plant, with the research aimed at the treatment of malignant cancer. In Europe, the therapeutic use of medicinal plants against tumours is realized in relatively few countries, in contrast, phytotherapy research in Asia reports results with a significant therapeutic effect. The aim of our work was to investigate the antioxidant effect of Artemisia annua . The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) laboratory assays proved that the parts of the herb show a significant antioxidant effect, while the seed and the extracted bioactive ingredient artemisinin have no antioxidant capacity at all. On the other hand, aqueous extracts made from leafy shoots showed promising antioxidant capacity values DPPH 10.48 ±0.46. Due to its bitter taste index 1548, it can be used in premixed feed e.g. for piglets.