Radical Scavenging and Ion-Reducing Capacity of Fumaria officinalis Extracts Obtained by Traditional and Assisted Extraction Techniques

The present research aimed to extract antioxidants from the fumitory aerial part in the flowering stage (containing leaves, stems, and flowers) by performing traditional and novel extraction procedures (maceration, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE)). The fumitory macerate showed significantly lower ABTS radical scavenging activity, expressed as a higher IC50 value (the concentration of extract required to neutralize 50% of radicals, 11.4 ± 0.1 mg/mL), in comparison to the other two extracts, whose IC50 values varied in a narrow range (8.6–9.5 mg/mL). In the DPPH assay, the trend was different: MAE (11.4 ± 0.3 mg/mL) ≥ UAE (12.0 ± 0.8 mg/mL) ≥ macerate (12.8 ± 0.1 mg/mL). In the CUPRAC assay, the UAE and MAE extracts (17.84 ± 0.85 and 18.05 ± 0.71 µmol Trolox equivalents (TE)/g, respectively) showed significantly higher antioxidant activity compared to the macerate (16.43 ± 0.45 µmol TE/g). Regarding the results of the FRAP method, there was no statistically significant difference in ferric ion reduction between the macerate, UAE, and MAE extracts (3.00–3.27 µmol Fe2+/g). However, the extract prepared using MAE provided the highest antioxidant potential, as shown in all four tests used. Due to demonstrated extracts’ antioxidant properties, additional research could address additional biological effects or the creation of delivery systems or encapsulates for the controlled delivery of fumitory bioactives.