Abstract
Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid content and the antioxidant property of two important seagrass species namely, Halophila ovalis and Halophila beccarii occurring in Chilika lagoon, Odisha, India.
 Methods: Total Phenolic Content (TPC) of the extracts of Halophila species was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method with little modifications and the total flavonoid content (TFC) was measured by aluminum chloride colorimetric assay. The antioxidant activity of different extracts was investigated by DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity. IC50 values were calculated for the DPPH and ABTS methods.
 Result: The study revealed that the methanol extract of H. ovalis has greater antioxidant activity than H. beccarii. Methanol extract of both the species (H. ovalis and H. beccarii) was found to possess high phenolic content at value of 70.25 mg GAE/g of extract and 48.53 mg GAE/g of extract respectively. Similarly flavonoid contents was found highest in methanol extract for both H. ovalis (76.82 mg quercetin equivalent/ g of extract) and H. beccarii (64.28 mg quercetin equivalent/ g of extract). The antioxidant activity of different extracts of these two species were evaluated using DPPH and ABTS radical assay. The methanol extract of both H. ovalis and H. beccarii showed high radical scavenging activity with IC50 values of 37.77 μg/ml and 52.25 μg/ml for DPPH and 25.62 μg/ml and 45.45 μg/ml for ABTS respectively.
 Conclusion: The study revealed the potential of the Halophila species as natural sources of antioxidants having considerable commercial importance.
Highlights
Seagrasses, a group of marine flowering plants, inhabit the tidal and sub-tidal zones of shallow and sheltered localities of seas, gulfs, bays, backwaters, lagoons, and estuaries along temperate and tropical coastlines of the world [1,2]
The present paper reports the antioxidant activities of two important seagrasses (H. ovalis and H. berccarii) of Chilika lagoon, Odisha, India, along with an estimation of total phenolic and total flavonoid content (TFC) in different solvent extracts
The antioxidant activity of extracts of H. ovalis and H. beccarii two seagrass species of Chilika lagoon was evaluated on the basis of DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities
Summary
Seagrasses, a group of marine flowering plants, inhabit the tidal and sub-tidal zones of shallow and sheltered localities of seas, gulfs, bays, backwaters, lagoons, and estuaries along temperate and tropical coastlines of the world [1,2]. The largest tropical brackish water lagoon of Asia, is situated in the east coast of India in the state of Odisha. It is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention and harbors rich flora and fauna characteristic of freshwater, brackish water, and marine habitats. As in other parts of the world, seagrasses of Chilika lagoon form dense meadows producing considerable biomass, provide excellent habitat for spawning fish and many juvenile marine invertebrates, perform multiple ecosystem services such as recycling of nutrients and stabilization of sediments. In a limited scale, the local fishermen communities use the whole plants of Halophila species as feed for buffaloes and goats after repeated washing, as packing materials for crabs and as green manure in their fields after decomposition. The leaf powder mixed with turmeric paste is applied externally by fishermen for treatment of skin diseases
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