Assessment of effect of hydroalcoholic and decoction methods on extraction of antioxidants from selected Indian medicinal plants

ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess the effects of extraction methods on antioxidant activities of selected Indian medicinal flora. Methods: Different parts of plants were extracted by hydroalcoholic and decoction methods using water and various concentrations of methanol (ME) viz. 75%, 50% and 25% ME. The antioxidant activity of all the different extracts was evaluated using two different antioxidant assays viz. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and superoxide anion radical scavenging assay. Total phenol and flavonoid content was also estimated. Results: The results showed that the extracting solvent significantly altered the antioxidant property estimations of screened plants. High correlations between phenolic compositions and antioxidant activities of extracts were observed. High levels of antioxidant activities were detected in Manilkara zapota (M. zapota) as compared with other screened plants.Conclusions:The results obtained appear to confirm the effect of different methods on extraction of antioxidants and antioxidant property of M. zapota.