Antioxidant Potential of Himalayan Medicinal Plants Angelica glauca, Alysicarpus vaginalis and Peristrophe bicalyculata

Abstract

The petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and aqueous extract of Angelica glauca Edgew, Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC and Peristrophe bicalyculata (Retz.) Nees were screened for their free radical scavenging properties using ascorbic acid, BHA and rutin as standard antioxidant. Free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. The overall strongest antioxidant activity was found in methanolic extract for all the plants, The methanolic extract of A. glauca %inhibition of DPPH radical is up to 95.81%, A. vaginalis %inhibition of DPPH radical is up to 90.36% and P. bicalyculata % inhibition of DPPH radical is up to 86.33%. The IC50 values of the extracts ranged between 69.42 to 475.36 µg/ml and standard antioxidant levels varied from 21.49 to 157.63 µg/ml. The present study reveals that the selected plants would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of their antioxidant activity and could be harnessed as drug formulation. These plants may be used as a source of strong natural antioxidants. Introduction