Nguyen Le Anh Dao^1,2, Guy Degand², François Brose², Tran Minh Phu¹,Joëlle Quetin-Leclercq³, Bui ThiBuuHue⁴, Le ThiBach⁴, Truong Quynh Nhu¹, Bui ThiBich Hang¹, Do ThiThanh Huong¹, Nguyen Thanh Phuong¹, Patrick Kestemont⁵, Marie-Louise Scippo²
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¹College of Aquaculture & Fisheries, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam
²Department of Food Sciences,Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
³Louvain Drug Research Institute, Pharmacognosy research group, Universitécatholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
⁴College of Natural Sciences, CanTho University, Can Tho, Vietnam
⁵Department of biology, Faculty of Sciences,University of Namur, Namur, Belgium

This study was conducted to determine the in vitro antioxidant activities of 20 herbal extract samples and 3 commercial products for initial selection of potential application in seafood and aquaculture products storage. The methods of Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (DPPH) were applied to evaluate the antioxidant activity. The results showed that eleven out of twenty three plant extracts displayed antioxidant activity, with concentrations able to inhibit half of the maximum response (IC₅₀) ranging from 6 to 49 µg/mL.PhyllanthusamarusSchum. etThonn.showed the strongest radical scavenging effect (IC₅₀=6 µg/mL). The remaining 4 samples showing ahigh antioxidant activity (i.e. IC₅₀< 30 µg/mL) were in the following order: Piper betleL. >PsidiumguajavaL. >Euphorbia hirta L.>Mimosa pudicaL..Agroup of six samples,includingZingiberofficinaleRosc.,Hepamin, Ecliptaprostrata (L.)L., Alba, AnnonareticulataL., HouttuyniacordataThunb.,showed an intermediate antioxidant capacity (i.e30 µg/mL<IC₅₀< 50 µg/mL). There was a positive correlation between total phenolic content (expressed as gallic acid equivalents) and antioxidant activity (expressed as 1/IC₅₀) (R²=0.9137).

The next step will be to test compounds with high in vitro antioxidant activity for their capacity to inhibit fatty acid oxidation in feed used in aquaculture and aquaculture products.

Key words: Antioxidant activity, Folin-Ciocalteu, herbal extracts, plant extracts,2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrylhydrazyl radical scavenging.