Antioxidant Activity of Certain Aquatic Extracts Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In 2020, the Ministry of Health of China added Dendrobium officinale, Ganoderma lucidum, Gastrodia elata, Cornus officinalis, Eucommiae ulmoides, Cistanche deserticola, Astragalus membranaceus, Panax quinquefolium, and Codonopsis pilosula to the list of approved medicinal plant raw materials. It was found that aqueous extracts of E. ulmoides , C. deserticola and C. officinalis have the highest overall values of total antioxidant activity, while G. elata and D. officinale extracts were the least effective among all tested plants. The performed regression analysis showed a correlation between the total content of phenolic compounds in the extracts and the total antioxidant activity ( r = 0.67, p = 0.039). In all used test systems, E. ulmoides extract had the most effective antioxidant properties.