COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF FOUR MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR TOTAL PHENOLS, FLAVONOIDS, IN-VITRO ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-HEMOLYTIC ACTIVITIES FOR THERAPY

Antioxidants from plant sources have gained acclaim as an excellent source for living a healthy life in recent times. The present study investigates comparative quantitative characterization of phytochemicals, in-vitro antioxidant and anti-hemolytic activities among aqueous and ethanolic extracts of four Indian medicinal plants viz. Berberis aristata, Cedrus deodara, Vitex negundo and Tinospora cordifolia. Quantitative estimation of phenolics, flavonoids, and alkaloids was done by colorimetric estimation. In-vitro antioxidant capacities were evaluated by hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assay and ferric reducing antioxidant potential assay, while total antioxidant capacity was evaluated through phosphomolybdate assay. Anti-haemolytic activity of plant extracts was assessed using H₂O₂ induced hemolysis of human RBCs. The aqueous extract of V. negundo and ethanolic extract of C. deodar resulted in significantly higher phenolic content amongst all plant extracts.  The greatest flavonoid content was observed with an aqueous extract of V. negundo, and ethanolic extract of C. deodara demonstrated the highest alkaloid content. High antioxidant capacities were reported for the ethanolic extract of V. negundo and C. deodara. The ethanolic extract of C. deodara afforded significant protection to human RBC against the free radical damaging effect of H₂O₂ with 82.8 ± 0.231% hemolytic inhibition as compared to other plant extracts. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Tinospora cordifolia, Cedrusdeodara, and Vitex negundo are effective in scavenging free radicals and could be a potential source of natural antioxidants. Our future work will focus on the identification and validation of bioactive antioxidants for their use in modern medicine or food products.