Effect of Harvest Season on Polyphenol Profile and Antioxidant Activities of Seomae Mugwort (Korean Artemisia argyi H. Le v. & Vaniot)

Abstract

The effect of the harvest season of polyphenol mix-tures isolated from Seomae mugwort (SM, Korean Artemisia argyi H. Le v. & Vaniot) plant was evalu-ated in terms of the content and antioxidant capacity. The results indicated a clear difference of total phe-nolic and individual polyphenolic contents in SM depending on harvesting time. The total polyphenol content was highest in SM collected in June (138.64 mg/kg) followed by that in May (125.34 mg/kg) and that in August (82.34 mg/kg). The antioxidant activi-ty of the SM polyphenol mixture was measured interms of assays like DPPH?, ABTS?+, superoxide anion radical-scavenging activities, and FRAP reduc-ing power. The antioxidant activity order is roughly in accordance with the total polyphenol contents based on the harvest seasons. It was observed that the antioxidant activity depends mainly on the content of hydroxyl cinnamates and flavonoids, which are the major polyphenol compounds