Anti-oxidant effect of Flemingia stricta Roxb. leaves methanolic extract

Aim of the study was to evaluate the possible anti-oxidant activity of Flemingia stricta leaf extract. In antioxidant study, plant crude methanol extract was evaluated for 1,1-diphenyl,2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and reducing power capacity. Moreover, total phenolic and total flavonoid content of plant extracts were determined and expressed in mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of dry sample (mg GAE/g dry weight). In the DPPH free radical scavenging assay, methanol extract showed concentration dependent inhibition of the free radicals. IC₅₀ of ascorbic acid and F. stricta leaves were 4.25 µg/ml and 320.47 µg/ml respectively. In case of reducing capacity, the methanol extract at concentrations of 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 µg/ml, the absorbances were 0.56, 0.92, 1.41, 1.76, 2.23, respectively. Total phenolic content was estimated by gallic acid and expressed as milligrams of gallic acid equivalent (GAE). The methanol extracts contained a considerable amount of phenolic contents of 482±8.72 of GAE/g of extract and the total flavonoid content of the F. stricta leaf was estimated by using aluminium chloride colorimetric technique and found that the extract contained flavonoid content 340.625±4.50 of GAE/g of extract. These results suggested that the methanol extract of F. stricta Roxb. possess anti-oxidant activity.