EVALUATION OF ANDROGRAPHIS ECHIOIDES FOR ITS PHYTOCHEMICAL AND IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES

The aim of the present study was to screen phytochemical derivatives from an Indian medicinal plant Andrographis echioides (L.) Nees and to evaluate its antioxidant potential. A preliminary phytochemical screening was carried out in plant extracts using qualitative and quantitative methods. Polar solvents showed presence of tannins, glycosides, proteins and organic acids while non-polar solvents showed presence of steroids, triterpenes and polysaccharides. The study concludes that the methanolic seed extract of plant possesses potent antibacterial property and justifies the need for further investigations and characterization of the bioactive compounds present in it. Based on the antioxidant assay results it was found that methanol extract exhibited better free radical scavenging activity than other extracts. The methanol extract exhibited highest DPPH scavenging activity exhibited best antioxidant activity with an EC50 value of 51.98 mg/mL. Among the different extracts, methanol was more effective in all the antioxidant assays i.e. DPPH radical scavenging assay and superoxide scavenging assay.