Antioxidant Activity in Some Herbs

Abstract

Many local herbs are used as herbal drugs in the treatment of diabetes. The objective of this study was to investigate antioxidant activity and total phenolic content from 20 herbs. Both fresh and dried herbs used in this study were Ficus religiosa L., Limacia triandra Miers., Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Lagerstroemia calyculata Kurz., Momordica charantia L., Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet., Bridelia ovata Decne., Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt.), Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Senna siamea (Lam.), H.S.Irwin & Barneby, Pluchea indica (L.) Less., Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels, Glycosmis pentaphylla (Retz.) DC., Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb., Azadirachta indica A.Juss., Morinda citrifolia L., Ocimum basilicum L., Piper sarmentosum Roxb., Psidium guajava L. and Gymnanthemum extensum. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging capacity (DPPH) methods. The results showed that the maximum antioxidant activity in fresh herbs, obtained from Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. is 50.77 ± 0.59 μg BHT / ml. Azadirachta indica A.Juss. had the highest antioxidant activity against DPPH at 49.70 ± 0.15 μg BHT / ml for dried herbs. The results of this experiment are used for promoting health as well as for preventing and curing diseases.