A series of new p-nitrophenylhydrazone derivatives 3a-f were synthesized, characterized, and investigated for their antioxidant activities. These compounds have been synthesized by refluxing (p-nitrophenyl)hydrazine with 4-sub-stituted salicylaldehydes. The structures of the compounds were established by IR, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR, and MS data. The antioxidant activities (free radical-scavenging activity, reducing power, metal chelating activity, and total anti-oxidant activity) of the hydrazone compounds were evaluated. All of the compounds exhibited significant activities, while compound 3a, with the shortest chain, showed the highest antioxidant activity in all of the tests.
Keywords: Antioxidant activity; Metal chelating activity; Phenylhydrazones; Radical scavenging activity; Reducing power; Total antioxidant activity.