EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND QUANTIFICATION OF α–ASARONE IN RHIZOMES OF ACORUS CALAMUS L. USING HPTLC FINGERPRINTING

This study aimed to analyze antioxidant activity and quantify alpha-asarone by using High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). Alpha-asarone is a secondary metabolite in hydroalcoholic (1:1) rhizome extracts of Acorus calamus L. (AC), a medicinal plant being used around the globe traditionally. Sweet flag, AC is a member of the Acoraceae family, and is commonly used unaided as well as in conjunction with other plants in Chinese traditional medicine and the Indian system of medicine. It has sparked a lot of curiosity and has proven to be useful in managing many diseases. Acorus calamus and/or its bioactive phytochemical α-asarone, is a well-known medication in a traditional system with various properties. Antioxidants are extremely essential compounds that can defend the body from harm caused by oxidative stress generated by free radicals. HPTLC is a viable option for expanding chromatographic fingerprints in order to identify medicinal plant’s key active components. At 100µg/mL, the antioxidant activity of AC demonstrated 52.59 percent and increasing to 56 percent at 500µg/mL. HPTLC fingerprinting profiles revealed the presence of α-asarone is one of phytoconstituent present in hydroalcoholic extract of rhizome extracts of AC. The retardation factor (R_F) was observed at 0.38, and the quantification is done at a wavelength of 260 nm. The amount of α-asarone was found to be 263.6 µg in 1.0 mg of plant extract.