Abstract :
We have investigated potentials of flowers of Gardenia jasminoides as a source for antioxidant-rich functional food and nutritional supplement. To this end, chemical composition and the scavenging activities of the flower extracts against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylPenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), [O.sub.2.sup.-]* and *OH were investigated. G. jasminoides flowers were found to be rich in hydrocarbons, terpenoids, phenolics, alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, ketones, and esters that are known to be free radical scavengers. Furthermore, extracts of G. jasminoides flowers exhibit scavenging activity for DPPH, ABTS, [O.sub.2.sup.-]*, and *OH. Therefore, G. jasminoides flowers offer potentials for development of antioxidant-rich functional food and nutritional supplement. Keywords: Antioxidant functional food, Free radical, Gardenia flower, Natural antioxidant, Reactive oxygen species Abbreviations Used: 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), ABTS; Butylated hydroxytoluene, BHT; 2,2-Diphenyl-1 -picrylhydrazyl, DPPH; Gas chromatography-mass spectrum, GC-MS; G. jasminoides var. fortuncana, Gjf; G. jasminoides var. radicans, Gjr; The extract concentration providing 50% inhibition, [IC.sub.50]; Reactive oxygen species, ROS Corresponding Author: Dr. Zhaojiang Zuo, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; E-mail: zuozhaojiang@126.com