Abstract

EVALUATION OF HYDROXYL RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF COMBINATION OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS

Tanuj Joshi* and Vijay Juyal

Abstract

As oxidative species have been indicated as main culprit in many diseases, considerable research is now directed towards finding newer antioxidants. Newer antioxidant formulations can be prepared by studying and identifying various plants with potent antioxidant activity. Plants can provide a safe and useful alternative to synthetic antioxidants. Thus, plant derived antioxidants can play an important role in oxidative stress related diseases. The present study is undertaken to evaluate the antioxidant activity of combination of extracts of aerial parts of three medicinal plants which are Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Thymus serpyllum and Spilanthes acmella. The extraction was done by using soxhlet’s assembly using absolute ethanol. After the extracts were dried, they were combined in equal ratio and the combination was coded as TJ123. The hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of TJ123 was studied along with ascorbic acid, which was used as the standard. The results demonstrated concentration dependent inhibition of hydroxyl radicals by both TJ123 as well as ascorbic acid. TJ123 demonstrated less percentage inhibition as compared to the standard ascorbic acid. The plants used in the above study and their combination can be further explored for development of potent and safe antioxidant formulations.

Keywords: Free radicals, oxidative stress, hydroxyl radical.