Abstract

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PHYTOCHEMICALS AND IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN SCHEFFLERA ARBORICOLA

Sravani G. and Sunita K.*

Abstract

Objectives: The main aim of the current study was to screen the phytochemicals, estimate the phytochemical constituents and evaluate the antioxidant activity in Schefflera arboricola. Materials and methods: Leaves and stems of S. arboricola was used in this study. Three different solvents viz., ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous were used for plant extraction through soxhlet extractor. Qualitative analysis for various phytochemicals were determined by standard procedures. Quantitative estimation of phytochemicals were determined by the well-known methods available in the literature. Antioxidant activity was determined spectrophotometrically by 1, 1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Results: Qualitative phytochemical study revealed the presence of steroids, triterpenoids, saponins, steroidal saponins, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides and phenolic compounds. Quantitative phytochemical study indicated the highest amount of alkaloids (59.3 mg/mg) in aqueous leaf, flavonoids (160.969 mg/g) and phenolic compounds (146.449 mg/g) in methanol stem and saponins (100.233 mg/g) in aqueous leaf. Further, results of their antioxidant screening of leaf extracts and stem extracts were revealed the low IC50 observed in aqueous leaf and methanol stem means that this extracts showed the maximum inhibition capacity of the DPPH free radical, as compared to the standard rutin by the presence of active compounds. Conclusion: The results suggest that the out of six extracts aqueous leaf and methanol stem extracts had promising antioxidant activity and could serve as potential source of natural antioxidants.

Keywords: Schefflera arboricola; Phytochemical analysis; Quantitative estimation of phytochemicals; Antioxidant Activity; DPPH assay.