Morus nigra has a long history of medicinal use in Chinese medicine, but the study on it is limited, the flavonoids are one of the main biological active substances. In this study, the Morus nigra flavonoids were extracted by ultrasonic and antioxidant activities both in vitro and in vivo were measured. The results showed that hydroxyl radicals clearance rate and superoxide radical anion clearance rate in vitro increased with the concentration of the total flavonoids in the range of 0-1.05 mg/mL and the maximum clearance rate was 80.33% and 87.69%, respectively. After mice were treated with flavonoids, the content of malonaldehyde (MDA) in serum and liver decreased; the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum and liver, catalase (CAT) in liver and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) in blood and liver increased; Langhans cells increased in spleen. These results revealed that the Morus nigra flavonoids possessed strong antioxidant activity.
Keywords: Morus nigra; antioxidant activity; total flavonoids.