ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF GOAT LIVER SLICES TREATED WITH CUCUMIS MELO (L). FRUIT EXTRACT

 Plant derived natural products such as flavonoids, terpenes, alkaloids and polysaccharides have received considerable attention in recent years due to diverse pharmacological properties including cytotoxic and cancer chemo preventive effects. From a long period of time medicinal plants or their secondary metabolites have been directly or indirectly playing an important role in the human society to combat diseases. Oxidative stress results from an excessive production of reactive oxygen species beyond the body’s antioxidant capacity. The over production of reactive oxygen species can lead to damage to cellular biomolecules, which is implicated in the development of many diseases including cell death. The reactive oxygen species can be eliminated /deactivated by a number of antioxidants which include enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants. The plant selected for the present study is Cucumis melo (Family: Cucurbitaceae) commonly known as Musk melon.Cucumis melo helps in increasing appetite, weight loss, urinary tract infections, constipation, acidity and ulcers. The goat liver was selected as the mammalian tissue to determine the antioxidant effect of ethanol extract in the presence and absence of the standard oxidizing compound (H₂O₂). This work suggested the antioxidant effects of Cucumis melo fruit extract on oxidatively stressed precision-cut liver slices is potentially exhibited.