The alcohol-based plant extract is four times stronger at fighting free radicals than the ether-based one, according to lab tests.
Scientific Claim
The antioxidant capacity of methanol extract of Aristotelia chilensis leaves is 19,452.5 µmol Trolox eq/g, which is approximately four times higher than that of ethyl ether extract (5,091.6 µmol Trolox eq/g).
Original Statement
“OM and OE extracts exhibited an antioxidant capacity of 19,452.5 ± 2111.1 and 5091.6 ± 174.6, respectively, expressed as µmol Trolox eq/g dry wt.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The claim reports exact, measured values from a standardized assay (ORAC). No inference beyond the data is made, so definitive language is scientifically valid.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
The study found that a methanol extract from maqui leaves has about four times more antioxidant power than an ethyl ether extract from the same leaves, which is exactly what the claim says.
Technical explanation
The study directly reports the antioxidant capacity of methanol and ethyl ether extracts of Aristotelia chilensis leaves as 19,452.5 µmol Trolox eq/g and 5,091.6 µmol Trolox eq/g, respectively. These values exactly match the claim. The study also confirms that the methanol extract has approximately four times higher antioxidant activity than the ethyl ether extract (19,452.5 ÷ 5,091.6 ≈ 3.82, which rounds to ~4 times). The methodology involved standardized antioxidant assays (Trolox equivalents), and the data were presented in the abstract with no indication of error or context that would invalidate the numbers. The study’s focus on oil fortification does not alter the validity of the extracted antioxidant values, which were measured independently. Thus, the evidence fully supports the claim’s numerical accuracy and comparative ratio.