Abstract

IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF THE AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF ANDROGRAPHIS PANICULATA AND CARICA PAPAYA LEAVES

M. Sangeetha and P. Venkatalakshmi*

ABSTRACT

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human aliments. Since synthetic antioxidants produce harmful side effects, research has been intensified nowadays to evaluate the phyto antioxidants. Andrographis paniculata, popularly known as “king of bitters” is traditionally used in Indian system of medicine to cure various diseases. Carica papaya is a fruit bearing plant with many pharmacological activities. Hence in the present study, the antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of Andrographis paniculata and Carica papaya, leaves was evaluated by different in vitro assay models. Total antioxidant activity of the extract was also high. The free radical scavenging activity was comparable with standard ascorbic acid. Therefore, the selected plants could be considered as a very good antioxidant source with therapeutic potential.

Keywords: Andrographis paniculata, Carica papaya, Free radical scavenging activity, DPPH Assay, Oxidative stress.