IN VITRO ESTIMATION OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CARYOTA URENS FRUITS

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine based on plants is the world's oldest form of medicine and recent reports suggest that such therapies still enjoy vast popularity, especially in developing countries where most of the population does not have easy access to modern medicine. Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of chloroform fraction (CLF), carbon tetra chloride fraction (CTF) and n-Hexane fraction (NHF) of methanolic extracts of Caryota urens (CU) fruits. Method: For determination of antioxidant property of the CU fruits extracts, DPPH (2,2‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay was performed. Results: Among three different fractions CLF showed the highest antioxidant activity (61.58 % scavenging) at 400 ?g/ml concentration followed by CTF and NHF. The IC50 values for the DPPH radical scavenging test were in the order of CLF (93.45 ± 3.09 ?g/ml) > CTF (473.01 ± 12.95) > NHF (613.13 ± 7.64). Conclusion: Our study suggested that CLF of CU fruits had strong antioxidant effect compared to CTF and NHF. Keywords: Complementary and alternative medicine, Caryota urens, Antioxidant activity, DPPH radical scavenging assay.