PHYTOCHEMICAL EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF AEGLE MARMELOS

Free radicals are unstable molecules that are formed during normal cell metabolism through chemical changes that take place in a cell. This causes damage to cellular components such as cells, proteins, and DNA, or the cell membrane. Free radicals play a role in a complex interplay of different mechanisms in both normal agings, neurodegenerative, and other diseases. Aqueous and methanolic solvent extracts of pulp (without seed), pericarp, leaf, and seed of Aegle marmelos were subjected to phytochemical screening tests, quantitative determination of total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total flavonol content (TF) and in-vitro antioxidant activities such as DPPH, hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂)_, reducing power assay (RPA), ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), ABTS and phosphomolybdenum total antioxidant assay (PM) by using standard procedures for the detection. The aqueous extract of pulp was found to possess maximum TPC (23.88±0.91mg GAE/g), TFC (63±0.25mg QE/g) and TF (13.30±0.53mg QE/g) values for methanolic leaf extract, respectively. The lower EC₅₀ values were observed for DPPH assay for aqueous extract of seed is 160.117±1.62 μg/ml while EC₅₀ values of pulp aqueous extract for hydrogen peroxide assay was 422.792±0.56 μg/ml. The Reducing power assay value was found to be maximum in pericarp aqueous extract 67.57±1.39 g AA/100g followed by pulp aqueous extract 131± 1.53 mg GAE/g in FRAP, pulp aqueous extract 63.42±2.61 mg AA/g in ABTS and methanolic extract of pericarp 288.33±0.14 mg AA/g in phosphomoly-bdenum assay, respectively. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to investigate phytochemicals quantitatively along with the antioxidant activity of methanolic and aqueous extract of pulp (without seed), pericarp, leaf, and the seed of Aegle marmelos by using different in-vitro models.