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The increasing interest in the biological activity of plant phenolics and flavonoids, outlined the necessity
of determining their content. In this study, methanol and water were used for taking out the phenols from
Euphorbia regis-jubae (webb and berth), an endemic Moroccan medicinal herb, also widely used as food
for camels and goats. Moreover the effect of temperature with both solvents was investigated. Therefore
the total polyphenols, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins content were determined. The antioxidative
activity of crude methanolic and ethanolic extracts was evaluated by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) free radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The results
showed that this plant possesses a great potential of free radical scavenging activity; that has a linear
relationship with an important amount of active compounds. It also revealed that the extraction was
better when methanol and water were coupled with temperature.
Keywords: polyphenols, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, antioxidant, Euphorbia regis-jubae.