ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF MEDITERRANEAN PLANT-LEAVES - OCCURRENCE AND ANTIOXIDATIVE IMPORTANCE OF ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL

Alpha-Tocopherol was identified as the main antioxidant in hexane extracts of leaves of sixteen Mediterranean plant species. The alpha-tocopherol content was determined by a two-step procedure involving column and gas chromatography with alpha-tocopherol acetate as internal standard. The tocopherol content of the extracts was in the range of 0.0-4.7%, and that of the dry leaves was 0-846 ppm. The highest alpha-tocopherol content was found in the leaves of a Mediterranean oak, Quercus ilex. The antioxidative activity, which was previously investigated was correlated with the alpha-tocopherol content. Correlation coefficients were 0.947 and 0.904 for extracts and leaves, respectively.