Abstract: Crude polyphenols were firstly extracted from leaves of Myrtus communis and their antioxidant activities and free radical scavenging capacities were investigated. The results showed that the crude polyphenol of M. communis exhibited better antioxidant activities than V_C and other synthetic antioxidants. In the experiment of scavenging free radicals, at the same concentration, the scavenging activity of polyphenol extracts to DPPH radical was five times of the V_E, and the effecton ·OH was than the V_C. It can be expected that of purified polyphenol samples will exhibit even better antioxidant activity.

Key words: Myrtus communis, crude polyphenol, antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging capacity