In vitro antioxidant activities of Tussilago farfara, a new record species to Changbai Mountain

A new record species of Tussilago farfara L. was reported to Changbai Mountain, and the antioxidant activity was also evaluated in the present study. Results suggested that the ethyl acetate (EA) and n-butanol fractions of the T. farfara extract showed strong free radical scavenging activity and inhibitory activity on pyrogallol autoxidation. HPLC assay suggested that the phenolic compounds 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 3, 5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid play an important role in the potent antioxidant activity of the EA fraction. The content of 3, 5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid 8.55% in T. farfara collected from Changbai (CB) is much higher than that in T. farfara collected from other provinces (0.51%), suggesting that CB T. farfara, a good resource of natural antioxidant, has the potential to be used in the manufacturing of foods and medicines.