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Review
. 2017 Sep 22;6(4):42.
doi: 10.3390/plants6040042.

Phytochemicals: Extraction, Isolation, and Identification of Bioactive Compounds from Plant Extracts

Ammar Altemimi  1 , Naoufal Lakhssassi  2 , Azam Baharlouei  3 , Dennis G Watson  4 , David A Lightfoot  5
Affiliations
Review

Phytochemicals: Extraction, Isolation, and Identification of Bioactive Compounds from Plant Extracts

Ammar Altemimi et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

There are concerns about using synthetic phenolic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as food additives because of the reported negative effects on human health. Thus, a replacement of these synthetics by antioxidant extractions from various foods has been proposed. More than 8000 different phenolic compounds have been characterized; fruits and vegetables are the prime sources of natural antioxidants. In order to extract, measure, and identify bioactive compounds from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, researchers use multiple techniques and methods. This review includes a brief description of a wide range of different assays. The antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties of phenolic natural products from fruits and vegetables are also discussed.

Keywords: BHT; antimicrobial; antioxidants; medicinal plants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of phenolic acid (A), flavonoids (B), anthocyanins (C), and tannins (D).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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