SIDA VERONICAEFOLIA AS A SOURCE OF NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT

Abstract

Antioxidants play a major role in the management of diseases which are associated with oxidative stresses caused by excess free radicals and other reactive oxygen species. Antioxidant phytochemicals exert their effect by neutralizing these highly reactive radicals. The antioxidant activity of hexane, chloroform, hydro-alcoholic and aqueous extract of whole plant of Sida veronicaefolia (family Malvaceae) was evaluated using in-vitro models, DPPH free radical scavenging, scavenging of hydrogen peroxide and reducing power method. Dried powder of whole plant was extracted with hexane, chloroform, hydro-alcohol (50 %) and water using Soxhlet apparatus. Hexane, chloroform, hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts showed 7.2 %, 8.4 %, 20.9 % and 14.1 % inhibition on DPPH, while 1.5 %, 2.5 %, 23.4 % and 11.5 % inhibition of hydrogen peroxide compared to 37.4 % and 40 % by standard (BHT) and increasing order of absorbance by reducing power method i.e. hexane (0.150) < chloroform (0.479) < aqueous (1.790) < hydro-alcoholic (1.906) < standard (2.082). The obtained results indicate that, the hydro-alcoholic extract of Sida veronicaefolia shows high scavenging activity. The antioxidant activity of the plant may be due to the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids and phenolic compounds of hydro-alcoholic extract of whole plant. In all the methods, the extract displayed its ability to scavenge free radicals in a concentration dependent manner.