Estimation of antioxidant power in various extracts of Euphorbia helioscopia L. with five different in vitro antioxidant models

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species are generated within living body as a result of redox reactions and these may damage biomolecules i.e. lipids, proteins and DNA that cause number of pathological conditions. Plants are rich source of antioxidants that can combat oxidative stress-induced diseases. Various in vitro methods have been designed to assess antioxidant activity of medicinal plants. The aim of current study was to evaluate antioxidant activity of Euphorbia helioscopia extracts and latex employing five in vitro antioxidant assays (DPPH, TAC, FRAP, FTC and BCL). The data showed promising antioxidant activity in plant latex (highest) and L.MT (second highest) in all the methods. The other extracts did also show appreciable antioxidant activity but significantly lower than latex and L.MT. Significant positive Pearson correlation (at 0.01 level, two tailed) was also found among all the methods. It is concluded that the plants rich in antioxidants could be helpful in combating diseases.