3. Results and discussion
3.1. Total phenolic content
Total phenolic content of nutmeg extracts was determined
according to the Folin–Ciocalteu method and expressed as mg
GAE/100 g dry weight of plant material. Total phenolic content
was found to be affected by the solvents used for extraction.
Acetone was found to be significantly the most effective solvent
for extraction of phenolic compounds than the other solvents
used in the study (p < 0.05). The trend of phenolic content
was reported to be acetone > ethanol > methanol > aqueous
> butanol. Total phenolic content of acetone extract was
found to be 93.12 ± 1.48 while least phenolic content i.e.
49.82 ± 1.26 mg GAE/100 g dry weight was reported from
butanol extract (Table 1). It has been reported that total phenolic
content and antioxidant activity have significant and positive
correlation [35]. In plants, phenolic antioxidants are produced
primarily by secondary metabolism and their antioxidant properties
mainly depends on redox properties and chemical structure
i.e. number and position of hydroxyl group which play
important role in scavenging free radical, chelating transitional
metals and inhibiting lipoxygenase [9]. It has been reported that