Abstract
This research was carried out with the aim of phytochemical analysis and determining antioxidant activity present in methanol and chloroform leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica. Due to its potential in curing various ailments as well as wide spread application of antioxidant activity such as in the field of cosmetology, the plant was selected for the study. The total phenolics contained in the plant extracts were also studied which are responsible for the antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity of the extracts were evaluated by diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method using ascorbic acid as standard in the concentration of 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 µg/ml. Phytochemical analysis were done with the established procedure and total phenolic content (TPC) was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of similar constituents in both methanol and chloroform extracts such as alkaloids, glycosides, carbohydrate, phenol, flavonoid, steroids, protein, and amino acids. Total phenolic content in methanol and chloroform extracts were 207.39 ± 8.77 and 58.08 ± 4.41 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g, respectively. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) value for methanol and chloroform extracts of A. indica were calculated and found to be 80.28 and 439.60 µg/ml, respectively. The finding suggests that methanol extract of the plant has significantly more antioxidant activity than the chloroform extract as clarified by total phenolics contained in the plant. Key words: Phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, Azadirachta indica.
Highlights
Among various sources of medicine, plants have been known to contribute a crucial role in the health service as three quarters of world population relies on it and its extract for health care (Kunwar et al, 2006; Thomson, 2010)
Free radical scavenging activity of all the extracts and standard ascorbic acid increased with the increase in concentration
The maximum percentage inhibition of DPPH free radical at 517 nm is exhibited by standard ascorbic acid followed by methanol extract and chloroform extract of A. indica as shown in Figures 2 to 4
Summary
Among various sources of medicine, plants have been known to contribute a crucial role in the health service as three quarters of world population relies on it and its extract for health care (Kunwar et al, 2006; Thomson, 2010). The presence or absence of such bioactive principles depends largely on the extent of accumulation, geographical location, method of collection, extraction procedure, amount of plant material used, and the analytical method employed (Yusuf et al, 2014). Free radicals which have one or more unpaired electrons are produced as a result of metabolism in normal or pathological cell which role is crucial in cell injury accompanied by ageing and wide range of degenerative diseases including inflammation, cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, liver injury, Alzheimer, Parkinson and coronary heart pathologies (Halliwell, 1995; Erdemoglu et al, 2006; Gutteridge, 1994). There is a need for isolation natural antioxidants having less or no side effects in order to displace synthetic antioxidants which are possible promoter of carcinogenesis (Kaur and Arora, 2009; Newman and Cragg, 2007)
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