Antioxidant activity of methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Pueraria tuberosa plant

Objective: As plants produce significant amount of antioxidants to prevent the oxidative stress caused by photons and oxygen, they represent a potential source of new compounds with antioxidant activity. In vitro antioxidant activity of tuber Pueraria tuberosa was investigated. Methods: Total phenolic content was estimated using the folin-ciocalteu method. The flavonoid content was determined by aluminium chloride method. In vitro antioxidant activity viz., DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide, ABTs radical cation scavenging activity and reducing power of methanol and ethanol extract of tuber of Pueraria tuberosa were determined using standard methods. Results: The total phenolics and flavonoids in methanol extract were found to be 0.68 g 100 g-1 and 1.21 g 100 g-1 respectively. The methanolic extract of Pueraria tuberosa showed potent hydroxyl, superoxide, ABTs radical cation scavenging activities. Ethanolic extract of tuber showed strong DPPH radical scavenging activity. The maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) in all models viz., superoxide, hydroxyl, DPPH and ABTs radical cation scavenging activity of tuber of Pueraria tuberosa were found to be 27.16, 26.12, 30.65 and 25.53 μg/mL respectively at 1 μg/mL concentration. Conclusion: The findings of the present study confirmed the presence of total phenolics and flavonoids and possess in vitro antioxidant activity.