Antioxidative activity of Tamarindus indica L. extract and chemical fractions

Abstract

Tamarindus indica L is a tropical plant that is used around the world mainly for medicinal purposes. Yet few scientific studies of its biological potential have been undertaken. The aim of this study was to assess the antioxidative potential of T. indica L leaves. The plant material was harvested and then dried in the absence of direct sunlight. The extraction was done by alcoholic decoction, and the fractions were obtained by liquid-liquid chromatography using solvents of increasing polarity. The reducing capacity of each sample was assessed using DPPH and FRAP methods. The yield of extract from the alcoholic decoction of the leaves was 8%. The hexane, dichloromethyl, acetyl acetate and aqueous fractions represent respectively 0.91, 1.17, 1.06 and 2.69% of the leaves. Evaluation’s results of the antioxidative capacity assessed by DPPH indicate that the best IC50 values were obtained from the extract (60.53 μg/mL) followed by the aqueous fraction (71.66 μg/mL), while the ethyl acetate fraction (453.33 μg/mL) was the least potent. As for the results obtained by the FRAP method, the best antioxidative activity was obtained with the extract (A = 0.066), followed by the hexane fraction (A = 0.016). This study shows that the extract and its chemical fractions reduce DPPH and the FRAP, thus indicating that T. indica L leaves have an antioxidative activity. Key words: Tamarindus indica L leaves, antioxidative activity,