Antioxidant Activities of Dendrophthoe falcata (L.f. ) Etting

ABSTRACT

Dendrophthoe falcata is a parasitic plant used in traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac, astringent, and diuretic and for pulmonary tuberculosis, asthma, menstrual disorder, swelling, and wound. The present study primarily describes the antioxidant activities of methanolic and aqueous extracts of the stem of D. falcate in different in vitro models. Both methanolic and aqueous extracts exhibited antioxidant activity, with IC50 values at 18 and 26 µg/mL for DPPH, 22 and 29 µg/mL for ABTS, 62 and 75 µg/mL for NO scavenging activities, 260 and 180 µg/mL for total antioxidant capacity, respectively. Total phenolic content for methanolic and aqueous extracts were found to be 1.5 and 1.1 mg/g while total flavonoid content were found to be 0.140 and 0.029 mg/g. The overall antioxidant activity might be attributed to its polyphenolic, flavonoid and phytosterol constituents.