EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTY OF SELECTED REGIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS USING DPPH, ABTS AND H2O2 AND TPC & TFC METHODS

The various medicinal plants have been used in the Ayurvedic medicine system to treat various diseases for a long period. The plant shows first-line defense mechanisms by secondary metabolites against different diseases and foreign particles to build immunity. This metabolite are classified as phyto & polyphenolic compound. Antioxidants play an important role in humans due to the presence of this polyphenolic compound and other phyto-compound. Either body metabolism generates free radical as an endogenous source or different pollution, food intake as an exogenous source. Cellular damage is happened by the excessive production of free radicals. Antioxidants arrest the free radicals by reducing their activity. There are nine medicinal plants such as Leucas cephalotes Spreng (Dronapushpi), Andrographis paniculata Nees (Kalmegh), Piper longum (Pippali), Desmodium gangeticum DC (Shalmali), Plumbago indica Linn (Raktachitrak), Zingiber officinale Rosc (Adrak), Calotropis procera R.Br. (Arka), Sesbania sesban Merrill (Jayanti), Hemidesmus indicus R. Br (sariva)] selected on the basis of their Ayurvedic property. Phytochemical analysis, Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid Content (TFC) and antioxidant tests via H₂O₂, DPPH, and ABTS were performed on these selected medicinal plants. The plant samples Raktachitrak, Kalmegh, Adrak give high antioxidant activity based on low IC50 value. Raktachitrak, Adrak show high concentration of TPC, TFC in comparison to Kalmegh and other plants. Besides TPC, TFC, presence of phyto-compound such as tannin, flavonoids, alkaloid are also found in most plant samples which may be responsible for positive test of antioxidant activity. This antioxidant activity of plant samples may be responsible for increasing strength, immunity and digestive power during treatment of various diseases.