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Copyright @ Pol J Cosmetol
Pol J Cosmetol 2011, 14(3): 180-184en  Commercial cosmetic plant extracts as a source of flavonoids - natural antioxidantsPaulina Malinowska Katedra Technologii i Ochrony Środowiska, Wydział Towaroznawstwa, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu Summary Introduction. Antioxidant activity of plant extracts is one of the most important properties. All the time scientists have looked for the sources of natural antioxidants, which can replace synthetic ones in many cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. Aim. The aim of this work was to screen the content of flavonoids and antioxidant capacity of ten commercial cosmetic plant extracts available on Polish cosmetics market. Material and methods. The amount of flavonoids in plant extracts was determined and the total antioxidant activity of these extracts was evaluated using two tests: Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay and Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) method. Results. It was found that flavonoids content and the antioxidant capacity are different for various commercial plant extracts used in cosmetics industry. Flavonoids content affects the antioxidant capacity of plant extracts. The highest antioxidant activity, both in FRAP and TEAC assay, was observed for Salix alba, Betula alba and Tilia cordata extracts. They can be applied as natural antioxidants for prolonging the stability of cosmetics instead of synthetic ones. Conclusions. Thanks to the high correlations obtained between FRAP values and flavonoids content, it was deduced that when we apply this method we can approximately estimate the flavonoids content in researched plant extracts. FRAP turned out to be better parameter to assess the quality of researched cosmetic plant extracts than TEAC test, in relation to their flavonoids content. Key words: plant extracts, flavonoids, cosmetics, antioxidant activity |