Antioxidant Activity of Selected Medicinal Plants of Pakistan

Abstract

In the current study an effort was carried out to investigate the fruits of some selected plants with highest antioxidant potential. For this purpose ethanolic crude extracts of selected plants fruits, frequently used for various medicinal purposes in Pakistan were subjected to 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay at different concentrations ranging from 100 to 500μg/ml. The results obtained revealed that the ethanolic crude extract of Juglans regia have DPPH scavenging activity of 95.42% at 500 μg/ml. This plant showed the highest DPPH scavenging capacity of all the tested plants. Elaeagnus angustifolia showed 43.90% inhibition of DPPH radical at 500 μg/ml. The ethanolic crude extract of Cydonia oblonga showed DPPH scavenging 27.18% at 500 μg/ml. The ethanolic crude extract of Morus alba showed the lowest DPPH scavenging activity (18.01%) at 500 μg/ml. The DPPH scavenging activity of ethanolic crude extract of Psidium guajava was 12.28% at 500 μg/ml, while Zizyphus jujube exhibited 19.52% inhibition of DPPH radical at the concentration level of 500 μg/ml. The DPPH scavenging activity of Phoenix dactylifera was noted as 37.98% at highest concentration. From the results obtained it is clear that the Juglans regia possess high DPPH scavenging properties. All the extracts showed maximum activities at highest concentrations. These plants needed further exploration to isolate the highly potential antioxidant compounds.