Spectrophotometric measurement of antioxidant properties of flavones and flavonols against superoxide anion

Abstract

The antioxidant properties of 12 hydroxyflavones (including flavonols) and eight methoxyflavones were evaluated using the pyrogallol UV–VIS spectrophotometric method to generate superoxide anion. Pro- and antioxidant activity depends of the flavone concentration in the medium. Results show that the hydroxylation (on the C ring) of the 3- position (flavonols) enhanced antioxidant properties more than methoxylation. A similar phenomenon is observed for hydroxylation at the 2′- and 4′-positions (B ring). Hydroxylation or methoxylation on the 7- position (A ring), however, has a negative effect on the radical scavenger activity.