Antioxidative and Antimicrobial Activities of Extracts from Several Utility Plants

Abstract

Extracts of Cat's Claw, Maca, Pasuchaca and Noni in a chloroform + methanol mixture and in water were examined for their antioxidative and antimicrobial activities. The extracts (chloroform + methanol and water) were found to contain low-molecular-weight substances that turned brown upon denaturation, and a-tocopherol. It seems likely that interactions among these low-molecular-weight substances are responsible for the antioxidative and antimicrobial activities of these extracts, and that the differences in the compositions of the extracts are responsible for the differences in the potency of their activities. Only Maca extracts in chloroform + methanol exhibited both potent antioxidative and antimicrobial activities.