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<p>The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant activity and chemical composition of aqueous methanolic extract of <em>Trichodesma indicum </em>(L.) R.Br. The extract was tested for antioxidant activity using various <em>in vitro</em> models viz., DPPH, ABTS, NO, FRAP, total antioxidant activity and reducing power. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found to be equivalents to 97.83 ± 0.08 µg of gallic acid and 45.45 ± 0.19 µg of rutin /mg of dried aqueous methanolic extract, respectively. Among various antioxidant assays performed, maximum inhibition was observed in the ABTS (IC₅₀ 17.13 ±  0.23 μg) followed by DPPH (IC₅₀80.64  ±  0.29 μg) and NO (IC₅₀4.12 ± 0.02  μg) assay. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of over 38 compounds, the prevailing compounds were hexadecanoic acid, β-sitosterol, ethyl iso-allocholate and 9,12,15,-Octadecatrienoicacid.  The HPLC analysis further confirmed the presence of rutin, salicylic acid and benzoic acid. This confirms that <em>T. indicum</em> could be the good source of natural antioxidant for industrial and pharmaceutical preparations.</p>

Background: Seeds of Cassia auriculata are reported to be used for varying medicinal purposes; however, information on nutritive value and physical properties of seeds remains unexplored. Hence, this study is carried out to investigate the proximate, minerals, fatty acid profile, functional properties, phenolic profiling as well as antioxidant activities of seed in order to give adequate information on its suitability as a possible future food source. Methods: The proximate compositions were evaluated by AOAC, and other standard prescribed methods. Minerals and fatty acids compositions were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and UV-visible spectrophotometers, while anti-nutrient determinations were carried out using standard procedures. Antioxidant activity and phenolic profiles were also analyzed using UV-visible spectrophotometers and HPLC. Results: The results obtained from proximate analysis were: moisture content (9.74%), ash content (4.95%), protein (23.83%), lipid (6.68%), crude fiber (8.93%), total soluble sugars (53.4) and energy value (412.6Kcal/100g). The mineral analysis showed that nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus were the predominant elements present in the seeds. Calcium, zinc, sodium, magnesium, copper, and iron were also detected in appreciable amounts. The anti-nutritional factors analyzed were oxalate (1.38µg/mg), phytate (0.12 µg/mg), tannin (3.02µg/mg), phenol (1.11µg/mg) and saponins (0.0037%). In the seeds oils, palmitic acid (14.01%) was prominent saturated fatty acid followed by stearic acid (5.12%) and arachidic acid (2.17%), while oleic acid (21.31%) and linoleic acid (51.52%) constituted the dominant unsaturated fatty acids respectively. The physicochemical and functional properties revealed that the seeds flour had excellent water absorption index, swelling index, foaming capacity and foam stability. In addition to that, the flour extracts revealed the dose-dependent antioxidant properties of tested extracts of the seed flour. Moreover, the HPLC analysis unveiled four phenolic compounds namely, benzoic acid (0.72µg/mg), cinnamic acid (0.71µg/mg), salicylic acid (0.65µg/mg) and vanillic acid (0.61µg/mg). Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed that Cassia auriculata seed flour is a good source of important nutrients such as fat, protein, fibre and minerals along with edible phenolics. So the seeds would be a valuable source of dietary supplements especially for growing population and could be used for industrial and pharmaceutical purposes.

Wrightia arborea (Densst.) Mabb. belonging to the family Apocynaceae, is a small deciduous tree, distributed throughout the warmer parts of India. Different organs (root, bark and leaf) have been used in traditional medicine for many years. The present study was undertaken to investigate the pharmacognostic characters of root, bark and leaf, which were carried out in terms of organoleptic, macroscopic, microscopic, physiochemical analysis and phytochemical testing as per WHO recommended methods for standardization of different organs of the plant. In quantitative microscopy, the average stomatal index was found to be 23.0, vein islet number 25.14 and vein termination number 20.0. Physico-chemically, the moisture content was comparatively more in bark, while it was less in the root; extractive values of chloroform, ethanol and water soluble extractive were 8.8 % w/w, 21.4 % w/w and 23.68 % w/w respectively. The total ash value was less in root, than that of the leaves; whereas acid insoluble ash value was more in leaves than root. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoides, phlobatannin in bark and leaves; phenolics, reducing sugars, saponins, tannins found in all studied organs, while leucoanthocyanins, iridoids, steroids and terpenoid revealed in the leaves only. Of the various phytochemicals and minerals estimated, saponin and tannins were found in larger amounts in leaves than others, whereas the minerals, calcium were more in leaf. The present pharmacognostic parameters reported on this plant can serve as a valuable source of identification and provide a suitable diagnostic tool for standardization besides adulterant identification in related species or weeds.