IN-VITRO ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY OF SALIX ALBA L. ALONG WITH SIMULTANEOUS HPTLC ANALYSIS OF SALICIN AND FERULIC ACID

Now a day’s interest towards natural and has been growing due to the unhealthy consequences of chemicals in the health industry; though, herbal substances possess several quality control and confirm pharmacological action issues. This present study was designed to determine the effects of Salix alba L. methanolic extract (MESAL) for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in rat models. Further to establish and validate a sensitive, fast and reproducible high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method of two biomarker compounds Salicin and Ferulic acid from MESAL. The anti-inflammatory activity was studied by the carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema method while DPPH free radical scavenging ability was utilized to determine the antioxidant activity. Additionally, the separation was performed by HPTLC with quantification of markers (Salicin and Ferulic acid). Among the different combinations of mobile phases used, the best separation was achieved in Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Methanol: Formic Acid (5:3:1:1v/v/v/v). The MESAL exhibited antioxidant activity with a maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value of 400 µg/ml, and exerted anti-inflammatory activity, wherein 70 % protection was shown at 400 mg/ml. In contrast, HPTLC method gave compact spots of Salicin and Ferulic acid at R_f 0.22 ± 0.02 and 0.68 ± 0.02, respectively. The MESAL displayed potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Statistical analysis proves that the HPTLC method is repeatable and selective for the estimation of the said drugs, thus can be used for routine analysis and quality control of raw material of Salix alba L.