ANTI-OXIDANT POTENTIAL OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF TRIGONELLA FOENUM, TRACHYSPERMUM COPTICUM, NIGELLA SATIVA AND THEIR COMBINATION IN 1:1:1 RATIO

Trigonella foenum (T. foenum), Trachyspermum copticum (T. copticum) and Nigella sativa (N. sativa) are important medicinal plants that need to be explored for their anti-oxidant potential. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the total anti-oxidant potential of methanolic extracts of T. foenum, T. copticum, N. sativa and the combination of these methanolic extracts in 1:1:1 ratio (Combination 1:1:1). The total phenolic content of the methanolic extracts of T. foenum, T. copticum, N. sativa and the Combination 1:1:1 was evaluated. Further the total anti-oxidant activity of the extracts was assessed by determining their total reducing capacity, DPPH radical scavenging activity and lipid peroxidation inhibition potential. The total reducing capacity was found to be 75.61, 115, 110.97 and 128.65 equivalents of ascorbic acid (μg)/mg for extract of T. foenum, T. copticum, N. sativa, Combination 1:1:1 respectively. The IC₅₀ for DPPH radical scavenging activity obtained for T. foenum, T. copticum, N. sativa and Combination 1:1:1 was 2428.45, 316.18, 457.94 and 107.85 µg/ml respectively. The inhibition potential of lipid peroxidation was 3.26, 1.27, 1.62 and 0.94 µg/ml for T. foenum, T. copticum, N. sativa and Combination 1:1:1 respectively. The results of the present study suggest that T. foenum, T. copticum, N. sativa and Combination 1:1:1 provide a potential natural source of anti-oxidants, with combination 1:1:1 exhibiting the highest activity.