Antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of common wild greens from Tiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of common wild greens used by the village people in Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu were evaluated. Among the plants studied, the methanol extract of <i style="">Euphorbia hirta </i>Linn.<i style=""> </i>was

found to be rich in polyphenol content and had a low IC₅₀ value for DPPH (78.33 µg) and hydroxyl radical scavenging (662.62 µg). It showed high antioxidant activity. The methanol extract of <i style="">Senna auriculata</i> (Linn.) Roxb. syn. <i style="">Cassia auriculata</i> Linn.<i style=""> </i>flowers and <i style="">Eclipta prostrata</i> Linn.,<i style=""> </i>leaves were also effective<i style="">.</i> The efficacies of the other plants were in the following order: <i style="">Cardiospermum helicacabum</i> Linn.var. <i style="">luridum </i>Blume > <i style="">Boerhavia diffusa </i>Linn.<i style=""> </i>> <i style="">Centella asiatica</i> (Linn.) Urban > <i style="">Cissus quadrangularis </i>Linn. > <i style="">Celosia argentea</i> Linn. > <i style="">Marsilea quadrifolia </i>Linn.<i style=""> </i>> <i style="">Pisonia grandis </i>R. Br.<i style=""> </i>syn.<i style=""> P. alba </i>Span.<i style=""> ></i> <i style="">Solanum trilobatum </i>Linn. These plants have been traditionally used by villagers without any noticeable adverse effects. The present study has indicated that the isolation of some specific compounds responsible for these activities might help in several aspects of food chemistry.