Research Article ANTIOXIDANT AND FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING CAPACITY OF PHENOLIC EXTRACT FROM RUSSULA LAUROCERASI

Objectives: Cellular damage caused by reactive oxygen species has been implicated in several diseases; hence antioxidants have significant importance in human health. The objective of this study was to evaluate antioxidant properties of phenolic extract from Russula laurocerasi and presence of components responsible for the activity. Methods: The antioxidant properties were studied using various in vitro assays. Qualitative determination of different bioactive constituents such as phenol, flavonoid, β-carotene, lycopene and ascorbic acid were also done. Results: The extract was strong hydroxyl radical scavenger reflected by its low EC50 value i.e. 0.03 mg/ml. EC50 values of the extract was in the order of hydroxyl radical scavenging< chelating ability of ferrous ion< DPPH scavenging< superoxide radical scavenging< β-carotene bleaching< reducing power. The extract presented a relatively strong antioxidant effect which was found to be correlated with total phenols (R 2 = 0.969) and flavonoids (R2 = 0.888) implying that the polyphenols was partly responsible for the antioxidant activities. Conclusion: Our result thus indicates that the fraction of R. laurocerasi may be utilized as a promising source of therapeutics