Abstract:
The present study has been designed to examine the antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of the Leaves of Heritiera littoralis. Antioxidant activity was determined by using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. In addition, total phenolic content was also determined. Total phenolic contents was expressed as gallic acid equivalent (GAE). The methanol extract showed moderate DPPH free radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 27.88 μg/ml compared to the positive control ascorbic acid with an IC50 value of 7.27 μg/ml. Besides, the phenolic content of the methanol extract was found to be 68.21 mg/g of dried extract (GAE). Therefore, it is anticipated that the large amount of phenolic typed compounds contained in the methanol extract played a strong role in antioxidant action of this extract. Therefore, Heritiera littoralis could be used as a source of naturally occurring potent antioxidants. However, it is very important to find out the specific chemical constituents responsible for potent antioxidant activity of Heritiera littoralis.
