Rishov Mukhopadhyay, Sanjib Bhattacharya, Moulisha Biswas

Abstract

Clitorea ternatea L. (Leguminosae), commonly known as Aparajita in Bengali and Sanskrit is a perennial herbaceous plant indigenous to India and found throughout the Indian subcontinent. The present investigation assessed the different solvent extracts of C. ternatea leaf for their in vitro free radical scavenging potential by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. All of the extracts exhibited potent in vitro free radical scavenging activity that increased with extract concentrations. The methanol extract was found to be the most potent in this regard, followed by the chloroform and petroleum ether extracts. Therefore, the present study confirms marked in vitro free radical scavenging activity of Clitorea ternatea leaf.