STUDIES ON ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY, PHENOL AND FLAVONOID CONTENT OF THE INDIAN MEDICINAL PLANT HYGROPHILA AURICULATA

Antioxidant activity, total phenol and flavonoid content of the leaf of Hygrophila auriculata collected from three geographically distant regions of Tamil Nadu (Kanchipuram, Gummidipondi and Chengalpattu) were examined using extracts of aqueous, ethanol, acetone, chloroform and petroleum ether. Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (BHT), Gallic acid (GA) and Quercetin (Q) were taken as standard in case of antioxidant activity, phenol and flavonoid content respectively. The acetone leaf extract of Hygrophila auriculata collected from Gummidipoondi was found maximum in total phenol and flavonoid contents 20.83 mg Gallic Acid Equivalents (GAE)/g and 3.59 mg Quercetin Equivalents (QE) /g respectively. The leaf extracts were evaluated for antioxidant activities by DPPH (1, 1 – diphenyl -2- picryl-hydrazyl) radical scavenging assay. Among three accessions with different solvents used, maximum antioxidant activity was found in acetone leaf extract (88.1 %) from Gummidipoondi - accession followed by others. The powerful antioxidant effect is attributed to the greater amount of phenols and flavonoids compound in the acetone leaf extracts of Hygrophila auriculata. Key words: Hygrophila auriculata, antioxidant activity, DPPH, phenol, flavonoid