Comparative analysis of antioxidant activities of Vitex negundo and Ficus carica leaf extracts

Abstract

Humans have been dependent on nature for various vital supplies and resources for a long time. Most biotechnological and pharmacological industries use chemicals and active compounds to treat diseases or make medications isolated from natural resources. A variety of plants have been explored for research of which Vitex negundo and Ficus carica are also examples as they are strong candidates for their potential antioxidant properties. In the current research, the anti-oxidant activities of V. negundo and F. carica leaf extracts were evaluated. The antioxidant activities of selected plants were analyzed using DPPH and FRAP assay. The results obtained from the DPPH assay indicated that methanolic extracts of V. negundo showed the highest inhibition of 90.07±1.17 percent at 1000 µl with IC50 value of 415.98 µg/ml followed by ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts (64.05±0.89 and 54.39±0.99 percent, respectively) with IC50 value of 751.96 µg/ml and 896.55 µg/ml when compared to F. carica extracts which showed highest inhibition of 75.75±1.08 percent at 1000 µl with IC50 value of 475 µg/ml followed by ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts (51.94±0.79 and 44.21±0.60 percent respectively) with IC50 value of  967.51 µg/ml and 1092.48 µg/ml. On comparing both plants, FRAP results indicated that methanol extracts of V. negundo showed the highest FRAP value (1042.1±0.98 µM) followed by ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts, which shows 996.6±1.25 µM and 949.6±1.63 µM at 1000 µl whereas F. carica showed highest FRAP value (995.6±1.35µM) followed by ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts, which shows 987.6±1.05µM and 447.6±1.01µM at 1000 µl. The results of the study can be concluded that among the tested extracts, the best antioxidant potential was exhibited with V. negundo leaf extracts, especially in methanol extracts.