Callus, as a Prospective Source of Proficient Cells for Determining Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Potential in Clitoria ternatea L.

A potential medicinal legume Clitoria ternatea L., commonly known as butterfly pea, has been investigated for determining phenolic contents and antioxidant potential. In the present study, callus was used as a prospective source of proficient cells obtained from leaf explants of C. ternatea L. Maximum callus was obtained by Murashige and Skoog, 1962 (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2.0 mg/l). The different in vivo and in vitro (callus) extracts, viz., ethanolic, acetone, petroleum ether, were used for total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity. The total phenol varied from mg/g Distilled Water (dw) in the various extracts was screened for their free-radical scavenging properties using ascorbic acid as standard antioxidant. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging effect of the extracts was determined spectrophotometrically. The highest radical scavenging effect was observed in in vitro acetone extracts with IC_50%: 24.4±0.34 μg/ml. The greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to more potent radical scavenging effect as shown by the same extract of C. ternatea L.