Abstract: The antioxidant activities and total phenolic contents of ten types of Chinese honey(Silver chain honey, Radix astragal honey, Apple honey, Buckwheat honey, Medlar honey, Hawkthorn honey, Mountain blossom honey, Fructus schisandrae Chinese honey, Chrysanthemum honey and Rape honey.) were evaluated. Total phenolic contents of the ten types of diluted Chinese honey samples varied from 13.30 to 148mg/100g honey as Catechin equivalent. Buckwheat honey(North of Shaanxi province) contained significantly the highest total phenolic content as compared with other Chinese honey samples. Percentage anti-oxidant activities of ten diluted honey samples were assayed in vitro by the inhibition of superoxide anion radical produced by xanthine-xanthine oxidase system and lipid peroxidation mediated by FeSO4 system. The results showed that the antioxidant activity of ten types of diluted honey samples increased with increasing the levels of honey samples. Buckwheat honey showed the highest antioxidant activity both peroxy radical and liposomes. A positive correlation was observed between percentage antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. This result demonstrated that the antioxidant activity of ten types of Chinese honey samples was relative to total phenolic content which was the main functional component of Chinese honey.

Key words: honey, total phenolics, superoxide anion radical, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant activity