PHYTOCHEMICAL, QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF SECONDARY METABOLITES AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF SPHAERANTHUS INDICUS SEED EXTRACTS

Abstract

Plants have served human beings as a natural source for treatments and therapies from ancient times, amongst them medicinal herbs have gain attention because of its wide use and less side effects. In the recent years plant research has increased throughout the world and a huge amount of evidences have been collected to show immense potential of medicinal plants used in various traditional systems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate physicochemical, qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis and in vitro antioxidant activities of seed of Sphaeranthus indicus collected from Bhopal region of Madhya Pradesh. The physicochemical evaluations carried out in terms of moisture content and ash value. Qualitative analysis of various phytochemical constituents and quantitative analysis of total phenolics and flavonoids were determined by the well-known test protocol available in the literature. The in vitro antioxidant activity of petroleum ether and methanolic extract of the seeds was assessed against DPPH and superoxide radical scavenging assay method using standard protocols. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of carbohydrates, terpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides and steroids. The total phenolics content of seeds of methanolic extract was (438mg/gm), followed by flavonoids (208mg/gm). The activities of both seeds extract against DPPH and superoxide radical scavenging assay method were concentration dependent. These studies provided information for standardization and correct identification of this plant material. The diverse array of phytochemicals present in the plant thus suggests its therapeutic potentials which may be explored in drug manufacturing industry as well as in traditional medicine.