Antioxidant activity in leaves of some Mediterranean plants

{{Hexane and methanol leaf extracts of sixteen Mediter- ranean plant species were obtained by percolation. Higher yields were observed for m e t h a n o l (16.4-47.8%} than for hexane extracts (1.3-13%}. Antioxidant activity of these extracts w a s determined by a rapid spectrophotometric method involving the combined oxidation of beta-carotene and linoleic acid. Leaf extracts were thus characterized by an Antioxidant Activity Coefficient (AAC) ranging from 0 to 1000. Hexane extracts gave m u c h higher A A C values than the corresponding methanol extracts. In both cases, myrtle (Myrtus communis) showed the best antiox- idant effectiveness.