Comparative analysis of antioxidant property of some common medicinal plants (viz. Rauvolfia serpentina, Cymbopogon citrates, Hibiscus rosa sinensis, Zingiber officinale, Calotropis procera and Spinacia oleracea)

Medicinal plants are potential antioxidative agents and serve as a sources of new drugs for treatment of several diseases. In the current study, we carried out a comparative analysis of the antioxidant activities of extracts of the selected leaves of 6 common medicinal plants. Total Ascorbic Acid Content, Total Carotenoid Content, Antioxidant potential using FRAP assay and Total Phenol Content was quantitatively estimated from leaves of Rauvolfia serpentina, Cymbopogon citrates, Hibiscus rosa sinensis, Zingiber officinale, Calotropis procera and Spinacia oleracea. It was found in this study that the highest total ascorbic acid content was present in Cymbopogon citratus, whereas, Calotropis procera showed the least content of total ascorbic acid present. On the other hand total carotenoid content of Cymbopogon citrates was the highest and that of Hibiscus rosa sinensis was the lowest. Hibiscus rosa sinensis exhibited highest FRAP value, which was subsequently found to be least in Cymbopogon citrates. Spinacia oleracea was found to have highest total phenol content and the least was present in Hibiscus rosa sinensis.