Abstract

FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF ARTEMISIA VULGARIS, L. LEAF EXTRACTS

Abdul Majeeth Kamarul Haniya and Palghat Raghunathan Padma

ABSTRACT

Free radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are byproducts arising from numerous physiological and biochemical processes. The over-production of ROS can lead to damage to cellular biomolecules like lipids, DNA and proteins, which is implicated in the development of many pathological conditions including cancer, hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. The deleterious effects of ROS are removed by the presence of compounds called antioxidants. The plant species acts as an excellent source of antioxidants, one among them is Artemisia vulgaris. The main objective of the present work was to study the free radical scavenging effects of Artemisia vulgaris leaf extracts (aqueous, methanol & chloroform). The result evident that the plant extracts possesses the effect to scavenge the battery of free radicals (DPPH, ABTS, superoxide, nitric oxide, hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide) tested, among all the three extracts used, the methanolic extract exhibited maximum effect compared to aqueous and chloroform extracts.

Keywords: Free Radicals, Reactive Oxygen Species, Antioxidants, Biomolecules.