Indian Journal of Science and Technology
DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2010/v3i5.3
Year: 2010, Volume: 3, Issue: 5, Pages: 571-577
Original Article
B. Thendral Hepsibha1 , S. Sathiya 2 , C. Saravana Babu 2 , V. Premalakshmi 3 and T. Sekar 4*
1 Dept. of Biotechnology, Alpha Arts and Science College, Chennai – 600 116, India.
2 Centre for Toxicology and Developmental Research, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai – 600 116, India.
3 Dept. of Horticulture, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai – 625 104, India.
4 Dept. of Botany, Pachaiyappa’s College, Chennai – 600 030, India.
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The leaves of Azima tetracantha (Salvadoraceae) commonly known as “mulluchangu” is best known for its medicinal properties. In the present study, the antioxidant potency of successive extracts (petroleum ether, hexane, ethylacetate & methanol) was investigated, by determining the secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, tannin and phenolic compounds. The free radical scavenging activity of various solvent extracts of the leaves was assessed by using 1, 1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide radical (NO), superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical and lipid peroxide generating models. Reducing power and Vit E level in the leaves were also measured. The results show that the methanol extract of the plant A. tetracantha contains significant quantities of the antioxidant principles compared to the other solvent extracts. Similar observations were seen in scavenging the free radicals by the methanolic extract of the leaves of A. tetracantha. Thus the therapeutic property of the leaves of the plant A. tetracantha can be attributed to the antioxidant principles which scavenge the free radicals responsible for pathological severity.
Keywords: Azima tetracantha, phytochemicals, antioxidants, free radical scavenger.
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