TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF SYRUPS FROM PEONY (PAEONIA PEREGRINA MILL. VAR. ROMANICA) AND ROSE (ROSA CENTIFOLIA) PETALS

Abstract

Traditional medicine offers a wide range of plant based products with multiple claimed benefits in health preservation, as well as disease treatment and prevention. Although known for their therapeutic role in various health conditions, syrups prepared with flower petals have not been thoroughly studied. In this paper total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of peony (Paeonia peregrina Mill. var. romanica) and rose (Rosa centifolia) petal syrups were analyzed in order to confirm the beneficial effects on health that the consumption of syrups with high antioxidant content has. The ingredients used for syrup preparation were flower petals, water and acacia honey.The total phenolic content was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu method, while the antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method. Peony petal syrup had the highest phenolic content (642.03 mg GAE/g) and also a greater antioxidant activity (inhibition of 87.13%). DPPH radical scavenging activity measured for rose petal syrup (62.95%) reflected the influence of phenolic content (437.91 mg GAE/g) of the product on antioxidant activity. These results show that syrups from medicinal flower petals might be helpful in the treatment of common diseases and the prevention of oxidative stress related illnesses.