Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF AVERRHOA CARAMBOLA HYDROETHANOLIC FRUIT EXTRACT

Vijayalakshmi C.* and Brindha D.

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants have bioactive compounds which are used for curing various human diseases and also play an important role in healing. Preliminary screening of phytochemicals is a valuable step, in the detection of the bioactive principles present in medicinal plants and subsequently may lead to drug discovery and development. Antioxidants are the compounds which terminate the attack of reactive species and reduce the risk of diseases. The study was conducted to determine phytochemical screening and total antioxidant activity of Averrhoa carambola fruit. Extraction of Averrhoa carambola fruit was done in different solvents. The results of the Averrhoa carambola analysis of these medicinal plants showed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, protein, tannins, steroids and glycosides. The hydroethanolic extract showed better result of phytochemical analysis than other solvents. The total antioxidant activity in fruit of Averrhoa carambola determined by ferric thiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid method showed low absorbance value, which indicated the high level of antioxidant activity. The present study reveals that the selected fruit would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of its phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity which could be harnessed as drug formulation.

Keywords: Averrhoa carambola, phytochemicals, antioxidant, FTC, TBA.