Author: Evian Pollack
Mentors: Jose Fernandez Romero, PhD , Adolfina Koroch, PhD
Institution: CCNY Bridges to Baccalaureate T-34 Scholarship
Antioxidants and phenolics have been used in traditional medicine for decades, and their health benefits include the treatment of many diseases. This research paper reports Central American medicinal plant extracts and their antioxidative capacities. The Sigma Aldrich’s phenolic compounds and total antioxidant assay kits were used to test antioxidants and phenolics in different ethanolic extracts from Theobroma cacao, Bourreria huanita, Elettaria cardamomum, and Eriobotrya japonica. The results indicated the presence of different concentrations of total phenolics, with T.cacao having the highest value of 1.36 mM Catechin Equivalents that correlated with high antioxidant values 0.398 nM Trolox. Future studies will investigate the potential active ingredients responsible for this antioxidant activity.
