Evaluation of Antioxidant activity of Fruit Extracts of Tribulus terrestris L.

Dried fruits of T. terrestris were collected from the Rohtak region of north India and extracted in various solvents (methanol, ethanol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and chloroform) to evaluate their antioxidant properties by FRAP and DPPH assay methods. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined as Gallic acid and Quercetin equivalents respectively. The Methanol extract had relatively higher antioxidant activity than other extracts and also exhibited maximum phenol and flavonoid (55.28 ± 0.08; 57.33 ± 0.09) μg/mg content followed by the chloroform (47.66 ± 0.13; 49.10 ± 0.08) μg/mg extract. This study validated the phytochemical analysis with the effectiveness of solvent in extracting chemical compounds and ascertains its properties, especially of the methanol extract of T. terrestris fruits which signify this plant as an interesting source of antioxidants for therapeutic industries.