The Phenolic Content of Syrian styrax officinalis L. Fruits and its Antioxidant and Anti-Cholesterol Activities

The objective of the current study was to determine the chemical constituents, total phenols, antioxidant activity, and hypocholesterol effect of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Styrax officinalis fruits.The chemical composition of the extracts was assessed by (GC) and (GC-MS). The extract contained various compounds, with styracitol (90.8-97.4%) being the major compound in the aqueous and ethanolic extracts, respectively. The total phenolic content was quantitatively determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, with gallic acid as the standard. Antioxidant activity was assessed by measuring the scavenging of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picryl-Hydrazyl (DPPH). The total phenolic content of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts was found to be 19.2 ± 0.75 mg GAE/g and 9.16 ± 0.23 mg GAE/g, respectively, in terms of gallic acid equivalent (GAE). The antioxidant activity has an IC50 of 1.076-2.49 mg/mL, respectively. The anti-cholesterol activity was determined using the CHOD-PAP method. The aqueous extract was more effective than the ethanolic extract at lowering cholesterol. The IC50 for the ethanolic extract was 6.4 mg/ml, while the IC50 for the aqueous extract was 0.54 mg/ml.