Sharma Ira, Mathur Manisha, Singh G.P, Rishi Anirudha
Plumbagozeylanica (Chitrak) is used as medicinal plant in India. The root of the plant and its constituents are credited with potential therapeutic properties including anti-atherogenic,cardiotonic, hepatoprotective and neuroprotective properties. In recent times, interest hasfocused on phytochemicals as new sources of natural antioxidants. Therefore in the present study methanolic crude extracts of stem, leaves, roots of Plumbagozeylanica were screened for their antioxidant property, phenolic content and flavonoid content. Free radical scavenging activity (antioxidant activity) was evaluated using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl- hydrazyl (DPPH) and was measured as decolorizing activity followed by the trapping of the unpaired electron of DPPH. The plant roots extract reveled significant antioxidant activity as compared to standard flavonoid (quercetin). IC50 values were found to be 72.3μg/ml , 32.433μg/ml and 24.6μg/ml in stem, leaf and root extracts respectively for their antioxidant activity by DPPH assay. The phytochemical investigation showed presence of flavonoids, and phenolics. The total phenolic and total flavonoid content was found to be the maximum in leaf extracts (28.25±0.001 mg of GAE/g and 2.41±0.021 CE/g respectively). A weak linear correlation between total phenolic or flavonoid content and antioxidant activity was found (correlation coefficient, R2 =0.9989 and R2 = 0.9559, respectively). The findings indicated promising antioxidant activity of crude extracts of the plant and needs further exploration for their effective use in both modern and traditional system of medicines.
