Free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity of methanol extract of Syzygium aromaticum

Abstract

Free radical damages have been implicated for several diseases including diabetes, arthritis, cancer and ageing etc. Current research is directed towards naturally occurring antioxidants of plant origin. Methanol extract of Syzigium aromaticum (MSA) was investigated for free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity. MSA exhibited significant radical scavenging activities with IC 50 values of 95, 101, 250, 225, 78 and 215 μg/ml against 2,2′-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl, superoxide, hydroxyl, hydrogen peroxide, metal chelating and nitric oxide respectively. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation by MSA was found to be 88 % at 1 mg/ml concentration. The result of the present study indicates that MSA can be a potential source of antioxidants.