RESUMO
Terminalia bellerica Roxb. (Family: Combretaceae) has been valued in Indian system of medicine for treatment of wide range of diseases and reported to have antioxidant properties. In the present study, the free radical scavenging activity and antioxidant potential of acetone extract/fractions of its fruit was investigated using in vitro assays, including scavenging ability against 2,2′-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), β-carotene bleaching inhibition, reducing power and chelating ability on Fe2+ ions. The fruit powder was extracted at room temperature with different solvents in the order of increasing and decreasing polarity to obtain crude acetone extract which was further partitioned with ethyl acetate and water (1:1). It was found that ethyl acetate fraction was more effective than crude acetone extract in all antioxidant assays, except chelating power which was highest in water fraction. Maximum antioxidant activities (expressed as EC50 values) observed were 14.56 μg/ml, 27.81 μg/ml and 67.8 μg/ml in DPPH, β-carotene bleaching and reducing power assays, respectively. The antioxidant potential was compared with known antioxidant (butylated hydroxyl toluene) and correlated with total phenolic and flavonoid content in crude extract and fractions. Fractions rich in polyphenolic content were more effective than the crude extract.