IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF LAGENARIA SICERARIA LEAVES

Abstract

The free radical scavenging potential of methanolic extract of Lagenaria siceraria leaves (MELS) was studied on in vitro antioxidant models. The antioxidant potential was evaluated by determining the activity of hydroxyl and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) radicals scavenging and 1,1diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assay. In all these studies, a significant correlation existed between concentrations of the extract and percentage inhibition of free radicals. The extract was also shown to have high phenolic content i.e. 99.09±0.10 μg/mg. These results clearly indicated that MELS could be a potential source of natural antioxidant and effective against free radical mediated diseases.