COMPARATIVE STUDY ON ANTI OXIDANT ACTIVITY OF MUSA ACUMINATA (PEEL, LEAF) AND RICINUS COMMUNIS (STEM, SEED)

Oxidative stress (OS) is the imbalance between cellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability of cells to scavenge them. OS has been implicated as a potential contributor to the pathogenesis of several diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease[1]. ROS cause the damage of many cellular components including lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, such as DNA leading to subsequent cellular death by modes of necrosis or apoptosis[2] . Antioxidants play an important role to protect damage caused by oxidative stress (OS). Plants having phenolic contents are reported to possess antioxidant properties. The present study was designed to compare the antioxidant properties of methanolic extracts from Musa acuminata (leaf, peel ) Ricinus communis (seed, stem). Antioxidant activity of the methyl extracts of the plant extracts were determined by use of Hydrogen peroxide method. The higher the concentration of the extract gave higher free radical scavenging activity. Antioxidant activity of the plant extracts decreased in the order: Musa acuminate peel> Ricinus communis seed > Musa acuminate leaf > Ricinus communis stem. The present study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the antioxidant properties of plant's methyl extracts. Thus, Musa acuminata could be considered as a potential source of natural antioxidants. Keywords: Free radical scavenging capacity, Hydrogen peroxide method, phenolic contents, anti oxidant phenolic contents.etc.