Antioxidant Effect of Aqueous Extract of Mucuna Pruriens (Linn) by DPPH Assay- An in-Vitro Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND In human, oxidative stress has been proposed in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, male and female infertility etc. Objective-The present study was carried out to determine the antioxidant potential of Mucuna pruriens using DPPH assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS The seeds of M. pruriens were powdered and aqueous extract was prepared. DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) is a stable free radical. The unpaired electron delocalises over the molecule entirely and the molecules will not undergo dimerisation similar to majority of free radicals. This process resulted in formation of deep purple colour, characterised by an absorption band in ethanol solution. The absorbance of all samples was read at 517 nm using UV visible spectrophotometer. Antioxidant activity was calculated. Each step was carried out in triplicate and the average values were entered. The experimental results were expressed as mean ± SD of three parallel measurements. IC50 (minimum inhibitory concentration) values were calculated graphically. RESULTS The DPPH scavenging activity of aqueous extract of Mucuna pruriens was recorded in terms of percentage inhibition. The results obtained were comparable to the standard BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) in a dose dependent manner. Higher percentage scavenging indicates greater antioxidant potential; 1000 micrograms of AEMP shows greatest scavenging activity. CONCLUSION When there is an excessive generation of free radicals, it can result into oxidative stress which gets accumulated during the life span which has been contributed in long-term ailments, therefore it is vital to restrict oxidative injury to tissues and suppress progression of the disease by supplying antioxidants as nutraceuticals. The current study concludes that the aqueous extract of seeds of Mucuna pruriens demonstrated considerable antioxidant activity.