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ISSN (Online) : 2277-4572

FUMARIA INDICA: A VALUABLE NATURAL SOURCE OF ANTIOXIDANTS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS

Abstract

Author(s): Tauheeda Riaz, Muhammad Athar Abbasi, Aziz-ur-Rehman, Tayyaba Shahzadi and Muhammad Ajaib

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant potential of Fumaria indica Pugsley. Methanolic extract of the plant was dissolved in distilled water and partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol sequentially. The antioxidant potential of all these fractions and remaining aqueous fraction was evaluated by four methods: 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, total antioxidant activity, Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay and ferric thiocyanate assay along with determination of their total phenolics. The results revealed that ethyl acetate soluble fraction exhibited highest percent inhibition of DPPH radical as compared to other fractions. It showed 83.41 ± 1.23% inhibition of DPPH radical at a concentration of 250 µg/ml. The IC50 of this fraction was 79.15 ± 0.87 µg/ml, relative to reference standard ascorbic acid, having IC50 of 58.9 ± 0.97 µg/mL. It also showed highest total antioxidant activity (1.029 ± 0.08), as well as highest FRAP value (249.66 ± 1.83 µg of trolox equivalents), highest total phenolic contents (123.23 ± 0.41) and highest value of inhibition of lipid peroxidation (51.16 ± 1.48% at concentration of 500 µg/ml)