ANTIOXIDANT ASSAY OF SOME ARID ZONE MEDICINAL PLANTS

Abstract

newline Medicinal plants are being used since antiquity to treat variety of diseases. newlineSeveral medicinal plants have been reported to have effect on antioxidant activity. newlineThe present study deals with some species of medicinal plants found Arid Zone. Six newlineplant species were selected from the Various Parts (Leaves, Stem, Root, Seeds and newlineFlower) i.e. Argemone mexicana Linn, Asparagus racemosus, Cyperus rotundus newlineLinn, Melia azedarach Linn, Tagetes erecta Linn and Tinospora cordifolia were newlinestudied for antioxidant activity. newlineThis study examined antioxidant activities of various fractions (prepared by newlineusing solvents) of methanol extract of targeted six plants. The antioxidant activities newlineof the extract and fractions were evaluated in terms of preliminary qualitative newlinephytochemical screening. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid newlinecontent (TFC) measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, Aluminium chloride newlinecolorimetric method, respectively. Their inhibition of 2, 2-diphenyl -1- newlinepicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical was used to evaluate their free radical newlinescavenging activity at 517 nm and FRAP assay to determination of the total newlineantioxidant activity. newlinePhytochemical screening of the plant showed the presence of phenols, newlinealkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. All the methanol newlineextract had the highest total phenolic content of A. mexicana 15.06±0.25 newlinemgGAE/gdw in stem, A. racemosus 6.23±0.12 mgGAE/gdw in stem, C. rotundus newline5.15±0.13 mgGAE/gdw in rhizome, M. azedarach 8.02±0.22 mgGAE/gdw in root, newlineT. erecta 124.89±1.32 mgGAE/gdw in flower and T. cordifolia 9.02±0.22 newlinemgGAE/gdw in stem and highest total flavonoid content of A. mexicana 31.20±0.24 newlinemgQE/gdw in leaves, A. racemosus 3.25±0.09 mgQE/gdw in seeds, C. rotundus newline1.06±0.19 mgQE/gdw in rhizome, M. azedarach 23.15±0.22 mgQE/gdw in bark, T. newlineerecta 102.15±1.29 mgQE/gdw in flower and T. cordifolia 5.78±0.17 mgQE/gdw in newlinestem. In DPPH and FRAP scavenging assay both showed highest activities IC50 newlineand#956;g/ml and and#956;MFe(II)/gdw values of A. mexicana 29±0.45