Abstract:Phenolic compounds in white asparagus stem，white asparagus stem tip，green asparagus stem and green asparagus stem tip were extracted by ultrasonic wave.Colorimetric method and high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）were used to determine total phenols，total flavonoids，total tannins，condensed tannins，rutin contents and their antioxidant activities （DPPH free radicals，ABTS free radicals scavenging capacities and reducing power） in the extracts of asparagus，and the correlation between these active compounds and antioxidant activities was also analyzed.The results showed that there were no tannins in both of asparagus.The total phenols，total flavonoids，rutin contents and three antioxidant activities in green asparagus stem tip were all the highest，followed by green asparagus stem，white asparagus stem tip，green asparagus stem.HPLC fingerprint showed that green asparagus stem tip displayed the highest numbers and levels of phenolic compounds，while white asparagus stem exhibited the lowest.The results above indicated that green asparagus contained more phenolic and antioxidant compounds than white asparagus，and asparagus stem tips contained more than asparagus stem.Moreover，correlation analysis showed that there was significant positive correlation between total phenol，total flavonoids，rutin，DPPH free radicals and ABTS free radicals，suggesting that the phenolic compounds in asparagus were closely related to free radical scavenging capacities.