IN VITRO STUDIES OF IMMUNOMODULATORY AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITIES OF FLAVONOID ISOLATED FROM MIMOSA PUDICA

Flavonoid isolated from Mimosa pudica was evaluated for its radical scavenging and immunomodulatory activities in-vitro. Aim of this study is to isolate flavonoid from Mimosa pudica and to determine its antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. Flavonoid was isolated from dried samples of Mimosa pudica using soxhlet extraction in 80% methanol and purified by column chromatography. Various tests were done for the presence of flavonoid, and the isolate was confirmed as flavonoid by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) analysis. Antioxidant activity of the isolated flavonoid was evaluated using assays such as the 1, 1‑diphenyl‑2‑picryl‑hydrazil (DPPH) radical scav­enging assay and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay. In-vitro assay of immunomodulatory activity of flavonoid isolated from Mimosa pudica was done by using lymphocytes isolated from a human blood sample. The isolated flavonoid exhibited a dose-dependent enhancement in activity in DPPH assay and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays. In DPPH assay 10μg of ascorbic acid, equivalent activity was shown by 30μg of isolated flavonoid. The isolate exhibited strong DPPH radical scavenging activity with an IC₅₀ value of 56.32 μg/ml as compared to the IC₅₀ value of the reference standard, ascorbic acid 21.11μg/ml. In hydroxyl radical scavenging assay 100μg of quercetin equivalent activity was shown by 373.77μg of isolated flavonoid. Flavonoid isolated from Mimosa pudica showed in-vitro growth stimulatory effect on isolated normal lymphocytes, which was estimated by MTT assay. Percentages of the proliferation of lymphocytes at different concentrations were obtained. The results of the present study indicate that the flavonoid isolated from Mimosa pudica is a c