Phytochemical screening and investigation of antioxidant potential of hydro-alcoholic extract of Ficus racemosa Linn. fruits and leaves

Abstract

Antioxidants are currently a significant trend in naturopathy, with a growing need in the cosmetic, nutritional supplementary, and pharmaceutical industries. It mitigates cellular damage induced by free radicals, which are implicated in numerous conditions such as aging, cancer, coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, neurological diseases, atherosclerosis, inflammatory disorders and cataracts. The available data on the antioxidant profile and the degree of antioxidant capacity of native medicinal plant species in Bangladesh is insufficient and lacks comprehensiveness. Thus, the goal of the research intended to evauate the antioxidant activity of ethanolic and aqueous samples of leaves and fruits of Ficus racemosa. Total phenolics, total flavonoids and free radical scavenging ability were evaluated using aluminum chloride colorimetric method, folin-ciocalteu reagent (FCR) method and DPPH-radical scavenging test sequentially. As a result, the phenolic content of EEF, EEL, AEF and AEL was calculated to be 27.57, 64.23, 16.01 and 7.57 mg of GAE/gm of dried sample, respectively and 238.2, 297.34, 166.22 and 53.02 mg of QE/gm of dried sample of flavonoid sequentially. Also, IC50 of standard and crude ethanolic and aqueous extract was 10.15 ?g/ml, 5.81 ?g/ml, 10.78 ?g/ml, 14.15 ?g/ml and 2.26 ?g/ml sequentially. Result suggests that all of the samples of F. racemosa showed notable antioxidant activity among which EEL showed comparatively better antioxidant activity. Thus, Current research indicates that the EEL of F. racemosa possesses significant potential for commercial application as an antioxidant source.