Preliminary analysis of phytochemicals and in vitro free radical scavenging activity of Dhanwantaram Kashayam

Dhanwantaram Kashayam (DK) is a polyherbal decoction used in Ayurveda for the postnatal care of mothers and for treating gynaecological diseases. It is also used as a growth stimulant in children as well as a regenerative medicine. Present study was to assess the various phytochemicals present in DK and to elucidate the role of DK as an effective antioxidant and free radical scavenger. Phytochemicals such as total phenolic content, total flavonoids and total tannins were assessed using standard biochemical methods. This study also investigated it's in vitro antioxidant activity by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and the free radical scavenging activity by assessing the scavenging activities on 2'2-Diphenyl-1-Picryl Hydrazine (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), phosphomolybdenum, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and the hydroxyl radical. Phytochemical assay reported fairly high levels of tannins 0.22 ± 0.015mg/g, total flavonoids 1.23 ± 0.043 mg/g and total poly phenolic content 10.05 ± 0.94 mg/g. DK was found to have very good antioxidant activity and it scavenged the different free radicals in a dose dependent manner with low IC50 values (DPPH: 2.08±0.051, ABTS:38.46±2.75, phosphomolybdenum 50.4±2.63, H2O2: 57.9±3.15, NO: 57.25±3.7, all expressed in µg/ml. Values were significant with p<0.05). Results of this study clearly revealed that the DK is rich in phytochemicals and is a good source of natural antioxidants and is an efficient scavenger of peroxide radicals. This supports the use of DK in Ayurveda as a regenerative medicine, but further studies are needed to correlate the in vitro observations with its pharmacological effects in vivo.