A Study on the Antioxidant Properties of Some Selected Medicinal Plants from Kandhamal District of Odisha, India

Antioxidant properties of medicinal plants of Kandhamal district of Odisha have not reported, while these plants such as Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. (NA), Tinospora cordifolia (Thunb.) Miers (TC), Phyllanthus niruri L. (PN), Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. ex Nees (AP), Lantana camara L. (LC), Mimosa pudica L. (MP), Justicia adhatoda L. (JA), Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. (CR), Cyperus rotundus L. (CyR), Piper nigrum L. (PiN), Ocimum sanctum Linn. (OS), Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don (CaR) and Clitoria ternatea L. (CT) are used to treat different ailments like malaria, rheumatoid, cold and cough, piles, diarrhoea and tooth ache etc. The present work aimed to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as in vitro antioxidant properties of methanolic extract of medicinal plants. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin- Ciocalteu and, aluminium chloride method with standard gallic acid and rutin respectively. Antioxidant activity was determined by 1, 1- diphenyl- 2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical, and hydrogen peroxide assay. The total phenolic content of medicinal plants varied from 44.53 to 297.07 mg/g while the flavonoid content was varied from 14.03 to 60.49 mg/g. In conclusion, these plants are rich sources of phenolic compounds and antioxidants and they could be used as a natural antioxidant.