Antioxidant and α-amylase inhibitory activities of tannic acid

Tannic acid widely exists in plants, which forms a part of human diet. The antioxidant activity of tannic acid was evaluated by the chemical and cellular antioxidant assays. And its α-amylase inhibitory activity and behavior were also investigated. It was found that hydrogen- and electron donating capacities of tannic acid were higher than those of tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) based on reducing power, ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays. But for its low hydrophobic property, the antioxidant activity of tannic acid in linoleic acid system was inferior to that of TBHQ. In the cellular antioxidant assay, tannic acid showed the higher activity than gallic acid in the “PBS wash” protocol, which could attribute to its high binding capacity of cell membrane. Compared with acarbose, tannic acid possessed the stronger α-amylase inhibitory capacity. And the static fluorescence quenching of α-amylase in the presence of tannic acid could be also observed, which was caused by their binding interaction.