- Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (2013) Volume 3, Issue 20

In- vitro Anti-oxidant Activity and Free Radical Scavenging Potential of roots of Malawian Trichodesma zeylanicumm (burm. f.)

Aim: To evaluate the antioxidant potential and free scavenging activity of T. zeylanicum powdered root extract. Material and Methods: The plant extract (50mg) obtained by soxhlet extraction method was dissolved separately in 50ml of methanol and the resultant solution serially diluted to concentrations 0.5, 0.25, 0.125 and 0.0625 mg/ml. The antioxidant potential and free radical scavenging activity were analysed using reducing power assay and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity methods. Phytochemical analysis was performed on the plant extract to detect the presence of phytoconstituents. Results and Discussions: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of phenolics, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and tannins. The flavonoids content were found to be 6.28±0.06 mg/gram of the dried extract. The reducing power assay showed that reducing ability of the extract were significantly increased with increasing concentration and were higher compared to the standard ascorbic acid. Methanolic extract of T. zeylanicum also showed good scavenging ability compared to the standard ascorbic acid. The IC?? values were found to be 0.122 mg/ml compared to standard ascorbic acid 0.717mg/ml. At a concentration of 1mg/ml, the scavenging percentages were 74.82 and 48.12 for T. zeylanicum extract and standard respectively. Conclusion: The result indicates the potential of T. zeylanicum as a source of antioxidants relevant to wound treatment.

Author(s): Frank Ngonda

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