Comparative phytochemical, thin layer chromatographic profiling and antioxidant activity of extracts from some Indian herbal drugs

Natural antioxidants play a significant role to prevent cell breaking and regenerate cells. Three plants native to India named dwarf morning-glory (Evolvulus alsinoides), Indian banyan (Ficus bengalensis) and chicory (Chicorium intybus) are used as medicine in India traditionally to treat diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the antioxidant activity as well as to compare phytochemical profiles of the aqueous extracts of the selected three plants. The dried plant powder was extracted with ethanol individually by using the Soxhlet method for eight hours and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. Similarly, the air-dried powder was extracted with water, and the water was evaporated. The thin layer chromatography (TLC) profile of the extracts was determined by using TLC densitometer and the antioxidant activity was determined by the conventional 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The TLC profile shows that there are no similarities of retention factor (R_f) values among the plant extracts which means all three plants contain different chemical compounds. The antioxidant activities of the aqueous extracts at different concentrations show different antioxidant activities. Percentage inhibition is dose dependent, as doses are increasing then percentage inhibition is also increasing for all three plant extracts. Among the selected plants, the highest activity was found in C. intybus and the lowest was in E. alsinoides. The order of the antioxidant activity among the selected plants was C. intybus < F. bengalensis < E. alsinoides. Based on the TLC profile and antioxidant activities, the highest activity of the selected plant species was evaluated.