Background: Antioxidants play a major role in protecting the biological systems against oxidative stress, which is associated with development of many chronic diseases and disorders. Plants are the main sources of natural antioxidants in the form of phenolic compounds, which help human beings to deal with oxidative stress, caused by free radical damage. Aim: The present study aimed at the evaluation of antioxidant properties of extracts of different medicinal plants and their correlation with the total phenolic contents (TPCs). Materials and Methods: The selected plant materials were sequentially extracted with solvents with increasing polarity and analysed for their phytochemical constituents and antioxidant properties. The free radical scavenging activity of solvent extracts was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay and TPCs by Folin-Ciocalteu method. Results and Conclusions: In preliminary assay, 35 plants were screened for antioxidant properties, among them four plants were selected for the study. The methanol extracts of Acacia catechu (AC-ME), Adenanthera pavonia (AP-ME), Holopetelea integrifolia (HI-ME) and ethanol extract of Terminalia paniculata (TP-EE) showed highest antioxidant activity with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) value ranging from 7.5 to 350 μg/ mL. The percentage radical scavenging activities of samples were compared to the standard butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The antioxidant activity of extracts and BHT in increasing order was HI-ME < AP-ME < TP-EE < BHT < AC-ME. A positive correlation was observed between antioxidant activity and TPCs. The results suggested that the phenolic compounds in extracts are most likely to be responsible for the observed antioxidant activity.
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