ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Study of Antioxidant Activity of Selected Medicinal Plants and Herbs in Iran and China

Medicinal plants and herbs have been used for the treatment of different diseases among various approaches employed in combatting and treatment of various ailments. Medicinal plants and herbs contain different antioxidants which help to confer protection against free radicals associated diseases. The antioxidant components are mainly produced in plants in the form of secondary metabolites. The exogenous antioxidants are basically obtained from medicinal plants and food such as traditional medicinal herbs, spices, flowers, beverages, mushrooms, cereals, vegetables, and fruits. The natural antioxidants of plants are vitamins, carotenoids, polyphenols as stilbenes, lignans, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. In both China and Iran, people have consumed medicinal plants as an alternative to traditional medicine for thousands of years. In recent years, researches and studies on antioxidant activities of medicinal herbs and plants have increased significantly because of enhanced interest in the healthy food industry, and rich natural sources of antioxidants. This review aims to highlight the importance of medicinal plants with antioxidant activity, and introduce some of the most important plants and herbs with antioxidant activities which are common in China and Iran while considering their mechanisms of actions and their functions in treatment and prevention of different diseases.