Sagebrush of the species Artemisia tridentata produces many polyphenolic compounds including flavonoids. Flavonoids are known for their ability to scavenge free radicals, thereby acting as strong antioxidants. Epidemiological studies have shown that flavonoids play a role in prevention of degenerative diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Flavonoids can be consumed through eating fruits, vegetables, tea, cocoa and wine. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that there are a wide variety of polyphenols observed after high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of extracts from local Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata. The purpose of the current study was to identify which of the flavonoids present in sagebrush extract are responsible for antioxidant activity. The peroxyl radical scavenging capacity (PSC) assay was used to measure the antioxidant activity of different flavonoid compounds extracted from sagebrush then separated by reverse-phase HPLC. HPLC fractions were combined into separate pools and concentrated. The antioxidant activity of these sagebrush pools was compared to that of quercetin, a reference flavonoid. Results suggest that sagebrush pool B1 exhibits the strongest antioxidant activity. To further investigate the antioxidant role of sagebrush polyphenols, glutathione S-transferase (GST) levels were measured in cell cultures treated with flavonoid containing extracts of sagebrush.

Investigation of Anitoxidant and Enzymatic Effects of Sagebrush Derived Flavonoids