The total phenolic content was determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, according to de methodology proposed by Singleton et al. with modifications. Briefly, 2.5 mL ofthe diluted Folin-Ciocalteu reagent(1:10, v/v) was added to 0.5 mL of solution of extract in methanol. After 5 min, 2.0 mL of sodium carbonate solution (7.5%) was added. The mixture remained 2 h in the dark and room temperature, and then its absorbance was measured at 760 nm. Gallic acid was used as a standard, and results were expressed as miligrams of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per gram of extract. All experiments were conducted in triplicates.