Abstract

EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIALS OF HEDYOTIS DIFFUSA AND LOBELIA CHINENSIS BY AN INVITRO STUDY

Dr. Pavithira Sekar*

Abstract

Hedyotis diffusa and Lobelia chinensis are the main ingredients in many Chinese herbal medicine formulations. These species are used in healing practices in China. The present study aims to assess the antioxidant potentials of Hedyotis diffusa and Lobelia chinensis using DPPH assay. DPPH radical scavenging activity was done using the method of Yohozowa et al. The reaction mixture containing DPPH solution and equal proportions of Hedyotis diffusa and Lobelia chinensis was shaken and incubated in dark for 20min at room temperature. The resultant absorbance was recorded at 517nm and the percentage inhibition was calculated. Ascorbic acid was used as the standard drug in the study. In our study Hedyotis diffusa and Lobelia chinensis showed dose independent inhibition of free radicals with more effective inhibition occurred in lower doses. From the study we found that these herbal constituents Hedyotis diffusa and Lobelia chinensis in 1:1 ratio have significant Antioxidant property.

Keywords: Antioxidant, DPPH assay, free radicals, absorbance, percentage inhibition.