“ESTIMATION OF RADICAL SCAVENGING POTENTIAL OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN”

In the current research, in vitro antiradical potential of some medicinal trees of Lahore, Pakistan was investigated. Various fruits and pods of 25 medicinal plants (Prosopis juliflora, Carissa carandas, Ceiba speciosa, Heterophragma adenophyllum Cestrum diurnum Jacaranda mimosifolia, Diospyros malabarica, Terminalia bellerica, Ficus lyrata, Diospyros peregrine, Cinnamomum verum, Erysimum cheiri, Buchanania lanzan, Withania somnifera, Fagonia arabica, Berberis lycium, Strychnos potatorum, Matthiola incana, Ziziphora tenuior, Centaurea behen, Rosa indica, Punica granatum, Lodoicea maldivica, Cassia absus, Celastrus paniculatus) were extracted by ethanol. Different concentrations of fruit extracts (1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125 mg/mL) were prepared to evaluate in vitro antioxidant activity. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging method was performed and compared with standards like Vitamin E, BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene) and ascorbic acid. Many plant extracts exhibited 80% of DPPH radical scavenging activity. F. Arabica, S. potatorum, M. incana, P. granatum, C. behen, W. somnifera, T. bellerica, and H. adenophyllum showed significant anti-radical potential (98.4±0.52, 96.40±0.52, 96.42±0.51, 94.58±0.52, 94.47±0.50, 94.65±0.56, 94.55±0.50, 91.42±0.51% inhibition, respectively) at 1 mg/mL equivalent to standards i.e. Vitamin E, BHT and ascorbic acid inhibition (88.25±0.2, 78.1±0.3 and 40.51±0.17%), respectively. Moreover, the dose dependent activity was observed as decline in the percentage inhibition at lower extracts concentration. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was also determined for the extracts that varied from 0.014± 0.001 (W. somnifera and J. mimosifolia) to 2.69±0.001 (B.lanzan) mg/mL depending on the sample extracts. The natural antioxidants in plants may be used in foods and natural products as a substitute to synthetic antioxidants, which have side effects.