Fig. 1.

Anti-oxidant activities of herbs used in Korean traditional medicine assessed by inhibition of chemiluminescence emitting from luminol/Fenton reagent reaction. Water extracts of seventy herbs were prepared and each of water extracts was assayed by measuring the inhibition of chemiluminscence produced from luminol on its oxidation by Fenton reaction. Luminol (10 mM) was mixed with 30 mM H₂O₂, 0.5 mM FeCl₂ and phosphate, pH 7.4 in the absence or presence of various volumes of each water extract. Total volume was 2 ml and reaction was started by adding H₂O₂ last and allowed at 37℃. After 10 min, chemiluminescence was measured using a chemiluminescence analyzer. Of the 70 herbs, 60 were shown to inhibit the chemiluminescence. The anti-oxidant activity was expressed by a reciprocal of the volume of the water extract required to inhibit the control chemiluminescence observed in the absence of water extract to 50% (1/50% inhibitory volume; 1/IV₅₀). 1/IV₅₀ of 60 herbs are presented in this figure in the order of their magnitude. Numbers given at each herb are the serial numbers shown in Table 1.