ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE REGION OF MAHARASHTRA AND TAMIL NADU: A REVIEW

India is the peninsula of the herbal hub, in which the ayurvedic system of medicine has flourished as enlightenment in the field of medicine. Plants had played a vital role since ancient times when people used plant derivatives as a source of the drug. Currently, some spices and medicinal plants have become the preponderant source of drug discovery in research for treating diverse forms of the disease, including cancer, due to having anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. Several spices and medicinal plants are potential sources for the forestallment and treatment of varied diseases, which contains several important bioactive compounds and phytochemical properties. Antioxidant activity can be arrested by flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, carotenoids, etc., depending on their physical structure. But in plants, Polyphenols are the most abundant antioxidant having a splendid ability to capture oxidative free radicals. The present study favours detailed wisdom on the antioxidant activities of nearly 80 different Indian medicinal plants in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which would be more beneficial for further research to develop new drugs, cosmetic products, energy drinks, healthy food products, etc.