In-vitro Re-evaluation of Antioxidant activity by 2, 2-Diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl Free Radical (DPPH) Assay in Medicinal Plants of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Abstract

Medicinal plants are a major source of raw materials on the globe from ancient to present century for the traditional system like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. Even the modern system of medicine has more than 25 percent of drugs in use which are either plant based or plant products. In day to day life, particularly in India people are suffering from menacing health diseases from common cold to amnesia and poisonous snake bites. These diseases can be treated by using some herbal extracts from plants which has antioxidant activity. Medicinal plants like Azadirachta indica, Ocimum sanctum, Lawsonia intermis, Murraya koenigii, Curcuma longa and Cuminum cymium belonging to different families play a vital role in day to day usage of different indigenous communities due to its sacred and medicinal value. Recently there has been an upsurge of interest in the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants as antioxidants. In the course of finding potential antioxidant from plant source, six medicinal tree species belonging to different families has been selected. Leaves were dried and extracted with methanol solvent systems. Antioxidant activity using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging assay, of six extracts from six genus of different families are reported and a comparison of the free radical scavenging ability of the extracts is emphasized. The highest percentage of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl free radical scavenging activity is found in Azadirachta indica (81.8% of inhibition) which shows antimicrobial, anti inflammatory  and anticancerous properties where Ascorbic acid (68.5 µg/ml)  is taken as standard for comparison.