Evaluation of in-vitro antioxidant property and total phenolic content of Zanthoxylum rhetsa fruit extracts

Abstract

Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Roxb.) DC of family Rutaceae is used in many traditional medicines as a therapy for diabetes, spasmodic, diuretic and inflammatory complications. Many chemical constituents like terpenoids, xanthyletin, sesamin, alkaloids, flavonoids and sabinene that are present in this plant attribute to various medicinal activities. Different parts of fruit of Zanthoxylum rhetsa were analyzed for their antioxidant property and total phenolic content. The antioxidant property was estimated using DPPH (Diphenyl picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging activities of various extracts of fruit, seed, and seed coat. The antioxidant property of the fruit, seed and the seed coat were compared with the standard antioxidant chemical constituents like Propyl gallate (PG) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The total phenolic content in Zanthoxylum rhetsa fruits was determined using Folin- Ciocalteau reagent. Gallic acid was used as a standard compound and the total phenols were expressed as mg/ml Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) using the standard curve equation: y=0.061x-0.002: R2=0.998. The total phenolic content varied from 0.027±0.0019 to 0.0392±0.011 mg/mL GAE in various parts of fruit extracts. The study reveals that fruits of Zanthoxylum rhetsa could be used as a good source of natural antioxidants in pharmaceutical industry.