Abstract

EVALUATION OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF SEED EXTRACTS OF TUDRI SURKH (CHEIRANTHUS CHEIRI)

Aasiy U. L. Erum, Mohd. Aslam*, M. A. Jafri and Kalim Javed

Abstract

Background: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is not an inherently reactive compound but can be converted into highly reactive and deleterious hydroxyl radical (HO) that combines with nucleotides in deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) and cause strand breakage leading to carcinogenesis, mutagenesis and cytotoxicity. H2O2 scavenging activity of a compound serve as a significant indicator of its potential antioxidant activity. In Unani system of medicine seeds of Tudri surkh (Cheiranthus cheiri) are used either solitarily or in compound formulation for the treatment of various disease having oxidative stress as basis of their pathogenesis. Aims and Objective: To evaluate the H2O2 scavenging activity of Ethanolic and Hydroalcoholic seed extracts of Tudri surkh (Cheiranthus cheiri). Material and Methods: Extracts were obtained by Soxhlet extraction with respective solvents. The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging activity of phytoextracts was assessed by UV- Vis spectrophotometer using the method of Ruch et al., 1989. Results: The seed extracts were capable of scavenging H2O2 in a concentration dependent manner. At lower concentration the scavenging activity of ethanolic extract was better than hydroalcoholic extract that may be attributed to higher solubility of phenolic compounds in purely organic solvent as compared to the solvent containing a proportion of water. Conclusion: Ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extracts of seeds of Tudri surkh (Cheiranthus cheiri) exhibited H2O2 scavenging activity and possess good antioxidant property.

Keywords: Cheiranthus cheiri, Tudri Surkh, Hydrogen peroxide, Ethanolic extract, Hydroalcoholic extract, Antioxidant.