Antioxidative activities of volatile and non-volatile extracts of Schisandra chinensis Baill fruit

In this study, the antioxidative activity of volatile and non-volatile extracts from Schisandra chinensis Baill fruit was evaluated. The antioxidative activity of the sample was measured via aldehyde/carboxylic acid assay, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and lipid/malonaldehyde assay. The sample was steam distilled under reduced pressure for extracting out the volatile components. The volatile extract was fractionated into seven fractions. The non-volatile compounds were extracted using methanol. The antioxidative activities of 500 μg/mL of non-volatile extract were estimated to be 76.80% by DPPH assay and 85.55% by lipid/malonaldehyde assay. Aldehyde/carboxylic acid assay revealed that fractions ⅰ and ⅱ of the volatile extract exhibited the most potent and dose-dependent antioxidative activity. Terpenes in the volatile extract including α-ylangene (733.512 μg/g), β-elemene (145.690 μg/g), and bornyl acetate (321.825 μg/g) were found to contribute to the antioxidative activity.