Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of acetone-water heartwood extracts of Alnus subcordata, Gleditsia caspica, Parrotia persica and Pterocarya fraxinifolia from Hyrcanian forests in Iran

Bioactive components in heartwood from four Hyrcanian forest species, Pterocarya fraxinifolia, Alnus subcordata, Gleditsia caspica and Parrotia persica as well as total phenol compounds and their antioxidant and chelating activities were evaluated. Identification of the phenolic compounds was performed with GC-MS. While P. fraxinifolia, G. caspica and P. persica heartwood extracts revealed a high potential for inhibition of DPPH radicals due to containing high amount of phenols and effective phenolic compounds for health benefits, G. caspica was found to have significant chelating activity against Fe۲+ due to its effective phenol, Resorcinol The IC۵۰ values of all four heartwood extracts were significantly higher than the well-known antioxidant BHT as positive control. The results of this study show that the above mentioned species with utilization of their heartwoods extracts could contribute more effective to the socio economic development of the region.