Antioxidant Activity Of Cassia Obtusifolia L. Seed In The Process Of Germination

Cassia seed is the dry mature seed of Cassia obtusifolia L. or Cassia tora L. belonging to leguminosae Jue Ming genera (Cassia).. It is a common Chinese herbal medicine. It contains anthraquinones, pyranoid ketone, fatty acid, polysaccharides and so on. Modern research proved, Cassia seed has step-down and improving eyesight, adjusting lipid, protecting liver antioxidant effects and so forth. It is raw materials of health food, cosmetics, lipid-lowering and reducing weight drug. In recent years, the researches of Cassia seed at home and abroad are mainly concentrated in the chemical constituents,pharmacological functions, clinical applications, main component content of extraction and separation and so on, and at the same time the antioxidant activity also was made a preliminary study. Its antioxidant activity of dynamic change regulation in the process of germination has not been reported.Dry powder of Cassia seeds and their seedlings at different germination stages as the material. Ethanol-soluble components and water soluble components were extracted by ultrasonic method. The changes of antioxidant activity in the process of germination were evaluated by total antioxidant activity, reducing power, removing·OH activity, removing H₂O₂ activity and DPPH·clearance activity. Phenol - sulfuric acid methods was used to determine the content of water-soluble polysaccharide of Cassia seed seedling in the process of germination, meanwhile correlation was analyzed between the changes in contents of water-soluble polysaccharide and the changes in antioxidant activity of water extracts. And with synthetic antioxidants BHT ( butylated hydroxytoluene ) as controls, the potential of extracts of Cassia seed seedling as raw material of natural antioxidant was evaluated at multi-angles, as Cassia seed rational development and efficient use of available theoretical basis. Main findings were as follows:(1) Ethanol extracts and water extracts from dry powder of Cassia seeds and their seedlings at different germination stages all have antioxidant activity.(2) In the process of germination, ethanol extracts of total antioxidant activity was decreased and then increased again before declining trend; reducing power, DPPH·clearance activity, removing·OH activity increased first and then decreased. On the 7th days after seed germination, ethanol extracts antioxidant activity was higher than dry seeds.(3) Ethanol extracts on the 7th days after seed germination were weak in synthetic antioxidants BHT at Total antioxidant activity, reducing power, removing·OH activity and removing H₂O₂ activity. Its DPPH·clearance activity was stronger than BHT, and its IC₅₀ (50% inhibiting concentration) of removing DPPH·was 0.80 mg/ml.(4) In the process of germination, water extract of the total antioxidant activity and the DPPH·clearance activity decreased; reducing power was decreased and then increased again before declining trend, removing·OH activity was first increased and then decreased.(5) In the process of germination, the changes of polysaccharide contents and the changes of total antioxidant activity, removing·OH activity, removing H₂O₂ activity and DPPH·clearance activity were obvious positively correlated. The changes of polysaccharide contents were negatively related to the changes of reducing power.