IN- VITRO EVALUATION OF FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF ERYTHRINA INDICA LEAVES

Introduction: The plant Erythrina indica has been widely used as traditional Indian herbal medicine against a variety of diseases including diarrhoea, liver disorders, dysentery and convulsion, as a diuretic, rheumatism, asthma, inflammation and leprosy. Methods: The study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of methanolic (50%) leaves extract of Erythrina indica by 1,1diphenyl, 2 picryl hydrazyl assay (DPPH), reducing power, nitric oxide scavenging activity, total flavonoid content and total phenolic content. Results: All the parameters were found to be concentration dependent and increased with increasing amounts of sample. The mechanism underlying the protective effects was assayed in vitro and the E. indica extracts displayed dose dependent free radical activity by utilizing DPPH (IC50= 530±1.52 μg/mL and nitric oxide  (IC50= 495±1.38 μg/mL). Conclusion: This study indicates that E. indica is a potential source of natural antioxidant. Further investigation on the isolation and identification of antioxidant component(s) in the plant may lead to chemical entities with potential for clinical use