In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of the Methanolic Extract of Simaruba glauca DC

The present investigation evaluates the in vitro antioxidant potential of the methanolic extract of Simaruba glauca (MESG). The reducing power of the extract increased with the increasing concentration which indicated that the plant has inherent antioxidant potential. MESG at 250 μg/ml showed maximum scavenging activity of DPPH (83.87%) followed by hydroxyl (80.19%), superoxide (76.25%) and nitric oxide (70.43%) radicals. The half inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) of DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide, and nitric oxide radicals were 21μg/ml, 26μg/ml, 27μg/ml and 32μg/ml respectively against the corresponding reference standards. Phytochemical screening of MESG revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavanoids, sterol/terpenoids, quinines, anthroquinones, glycoside, reducing sugar, carbohydrate, volatile oil and phenolic compounds. However, coumarins, saponins, tannins and resins were absent in the extract. The total phenolic content of MESG was 24.6mg/g. The findings suggest that MESG possesses potent antioxidant activity and has great importance in nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations.