ABSTRACT
Free radical-mediated oxidative stress is believed to be the primary cause of many disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, brain dysfunction, cataract, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, cancer, ageing etc. In treatment of these diseases, antioxidant therapy has gained an utmost importance in the recent years. Current research is now directed towards finding naturally occurring antioxidants of plant origin. In Indian system of medicine, Clitoria ternata L. and Eclipta prostrata L. are the important medicinal plants, which have a wide range of applications. In the present study, the antioxidant potential of aqueous extracts of C. ternata and E. prostrata was evaluated by determining the levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. In vitro antioxidant capacity was also determined using different assays and the results were compared with standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT), ascorbic acid and rutin. Our results showed that both plant extracts possessed significant levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and also exhibited antioxidant capacity. However, C. ternata showed higher levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, as compared to E. prostrata. In addition, the antioxidant capacity of C. ternata was observed to be significant as compared to E. prostrata.