Study of phytochemical and antioxidant activity of Cucumis melo var. agrestis fruit

Abstract

Cucumis melo var. agrestis, is an annual creeper, is available all over India and well known for its antioxidant property. In the present investigation, aqueous extract, and ethanolic extract of the fruits were made using hot extraction procedure using soxhlet apparatus, decoction and maceration. The qualitative phyto-chemical screening procedure was performed on each extract. Phyto chemical study reveals that carbohydrates, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, steroids & triterpinoids and glycosides were present in both the extracts. An attempt has been made to highlight this folk herbal medicine through present study which will assist in the identification of fresh as well as dried crude samples of fruits anatomically and physiochemically. The antioxidant activity is conducted by hydrogen peroxide in In vitro method on each extract and ethanolic extract showed significant action towards free radicals.