Crude extracts of Sedum formosanum N.E.Br. obtained from n-butanol partition (BP) and isopropanol salting-out pretreatment (ISP) were analyzed using antioxidation assays. The results indicated that the extract from ISP contained more potent antioxidants and thus exhibited more antioxidant activity in all the assays. The superoxide radical-scavenging activity and inhibition of nitric oxide radicals achieved after ISP were 3.65 and 2.18 times higher than those achieved through BP, respectively. Eight bioactive natural products were isolated and identified according to an analysis of antioxidation activity in different fractions of the ISP crude extract, namely three cyanophoric glycosides 1-3, three flavonoids 4-6 and two phenolic compounds (7 and a new compound 8). Among them, compounds 5 and 6 exhibit the highest antioxidation capability, and the ISP is suitable for obtaining compounds 5 and 6 using HPLC chromatograms. Therefore, ISP is an excellent extraction technology that can be used to extract antioxidant compounds in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.
Keywords: S. formosanum N.E.Br.; antioxidant activity; cyanophoric glycoside; flavonoids; salting-out.