CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF SEED EXTRACT OF N. NUCIFERA

N. nucifera, often recognized as lotus, is an aquatic plant. Extracts of various solvents have shown therapeutic potential against many diseases. This research focused on screening preliminary qualitative phytochemicals and investigating the seed’s antioxidant activity. Primary and secondary metabolites were discovered in a hydroethanolic fraction of different extracts of lotus seeds. The extractive value, total ash (3.56±0.36) water-soluble (0.86±0.68), and acid insoluble ash value (2.09±0.88) were determined. The solvents benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and aqueous were used as extracts. TPC and TFC content of ethyl acetate extract of seeds were found to be 366.6±10.77 (mg GAE/ g^-1 dry weight) and 344.4±3.71 (mg RE/ g^-1 dry weight), respectively. The ethyl acetate fraction of the seed extract showed the lowest value determining the highest free radical scavenging activity (105.30 ± 12.06µg/ml) in DPPH and FRAP (142.2± 0.0509 mgAA gm^-1). ­ The values were found to be close as compared to the standard (56.40±23.63µg/ml).The results support high antioxidant content in the seed extract of N. nucifera. FTIR and GCMS did the characterization of compounds. The results conclude that seeds of N. nucifera can be included in medicine as it shows pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential.