IN-VITRO FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF JATROPHA CARCUS

Abstract

To evaluate the in vitro free radical (FR) scavenging activity of leaves Jatropha carcus petroleum ether, ethanol, aqueous extracts of J. carcus were prepared, with successive extraction in Soxhlet apparatus. Each extract was selected to study the FR scavenging activity by superoxide scavenging assay and 2, 2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay method. It was found that aqueous extract contained carbohydrates, glycosides amino acids flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and steroids; ethanolic extract contained glycosides amino acids flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and steroids. Radical scavenging activity of plant extracts against stable DPPH was determined spectrophotometrically. Extract solutions were prepared by dissolving 0.025 g of dry extract in 10 ml of methanol. The solution of DPPH in methanol was prepared daily. The samples were kept in the dark for 15 min at room temperature and then the decrease in absorption was measured. Ethanolic extract of Jatropha carcus had showed 71.8±0.69 % inhibition in superoxide scavenging model. Aqueous extract also showed almost similar activity (67.8±0.58 % compared to ethanolic extract), while petroleum ether extract showed poor inhibition of superoxide scavenging activity. The antioxidant capacity of various solvent fractions of Jatropha carcus was found to decrease in this order:ethanolic ˃ aqueous ˃ petroleum ether. All results showed antioxidant activity in dose dependent manner at concentration 10 to 30 μg/ml. Strong antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract statistically similar to ascorbic acid indicates strong antioxidants in this extract. All extracts showed dose and time dependent inhibition of superoxide scavenging activity.