Arockia Jenecius and Veerabahu Ramasamy Mohan

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the antioxidant activity of petroleum ether, benzene, ethyl acetate, methanol and ethanol extracts of Becolepsis nervosa leaf. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using in vitro antoxidant assay models like, DPPH radical scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical cation scavenging activity and reducing power assay. All the antioxidant activities were compared with standard antioxidant such as ascorbic acid. Ethanol extract of the plant showed effective DPPH radical scavenging activity superoxide radical scavenging activity and reducing power assay. Ethyl acetate extract showed effective hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and ABTS assay. IC50 values of all the extracts of B. nervosa were found to be low than ascorbic acid in DPPH radical scavenging activity model and ABTS assay. In addition, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of the extract were evaluated. It was observed that the ethyl acetate extract contained high level of phenolic content that might have accounted for the strong activity observed against the free radicals. The results obtained in this study showed that the leaves of B. nervosa have antioxidant properties which provde a basis for the traditional use of the plant.