ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL PROFILE OF PAJANELIA LONGIFOLIA (WILLD.) K. SCHUMAN.; POTENTIAL NEW SOURCES OF NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the present work is to screen the antioxidant potentiality of the bark extracts of Pajanelia longifolia (Willd.) K. Schuman, ethnomedicinally prescribed plant as hepatoprotective. Methods: Bark extract was prepared using Soxhlet apparatus. Total phenol, flavonoid, total alkaloid were analyzed using Folin–Ciocalteu assay, aluminum chloride calorimetric assay, atropine standard, respectively. Antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging potentialities were done by various in vitro methods, viz.; 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, reducing power assay, metal chelating activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method. Result: Total phenol, flavonoid, and alkaloid were found to be highest in acetone extract of P. longifolia (Willd.) K. Schuman. Acetone extracts of the bark of P. longifolia (Willd.) K. Schuman showed very low inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) and effective concentration 50 values for DPPH assay and reducing power assay compared to other extracts. In hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity assay, the lowest IC50 value was recorded in acetone extract with 181.78±0.09 μg/ml in P. longifolia. The FRAP assay for P. longifolia acetone extract showed the highest activity at 967±0.69 μg/ml of ascorbic acid equivalent. The ferric reducing capacity and TBA values of the plant extracts confirmed the presence antioxidant principles in the bark of the said plant. Conclusion: These underused plants may be used for mitigating the detrimental effect of oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species-mediated disease and thus justifies its use in folklore medicines.