World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF VARIOUS EXTRACTS OF LEUCUS ASPERA (WILLD.) LINN. AERIAL PARTS

Tirtha Ghosh*, Swarupa Ghosh and Debabrata Devbhuti

ABSTRACT

Various Extracts of Leucus aspera (Willd.) Linn. Aerial Parts were investigated for the in vitro antioxidant
effects. Ethanolic extract (EA), Ethyl acetate extract (Eac), Chloroform extract (CH), Diethyl ether erxtract
(DE), Petroleum Ether extract (PE) and n-butanol extract (NB) were prepared by successive soxhlation
method and estimation of total phenolics and total flavonoids were carried out. Further, the antioxidant
activity of the extracts were studied using five in vitro models. The amount of total phenolics was estimated to
be highest in EA (56.3 of pyrocatechol equivalent per mg of extract) while minimum in NB (7.9 of
pyrocatechol equivalent per mg of extract), whereas total flavonoids were found to be maximum in PE and
lowest in EA. The reducing power of the extracts, the antioxidant activity, the DPPH radical scavenging
activity, nitric oxide scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity were also concentration
dependant. The order of antioxidant activity was found to be EA>PE>NB>Eac>DE>CH. This could be
attributed to more amount of total phenolics in the polar solvents and more amount of total flavonoids in non
polar solvents. From these results, it was suggested that EA and PE could effectively act as antioxidative
agents. Further studies may be done with these extracts on diseases which are associated with the accumulation
of free radicals.

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