Abstract:

Enteromorpha prolifera (Muell.) J.Ag. (EP) was extracted with a mixture chloroform and methanol (1:1) in a Soxhlet extractor, and then dispersed in water and partitioned with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and n-butanol successively. The antioxidant activity (AA) of both chloroform-methanol extract and its four fractions including petroleum ether fraction (PEF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF), n-butanol fraction (BF) and aqueous residue (AR) was evaluated by TBARS and Schaal methods, and compared with that of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and gallic acid (GA). Fraction BF exhibited higher inhibition activity on linoleic acid peroxidation than GA at 0.4, 2, 10 and 50 μg /ml and than BHT at 0.4, 2 and 10 μg /ml while lower inhibition activity on lard peroxidation than BHT at the same concentration levels tested.

Key words: Enteromorpha prolifra (Muell.) J.Ag., edible oil and fat, lipid peroxidation