%0 Journal Article
%T Comparative Analysis of the Antioxidant Activity of Cassia fistula Extracts
%A Md. Irshad
%A Md. Zafaryab
%A Man Singh
%A M. Moshahid A. Rizvi
%J International Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/157125
%X Antioxidant potential of various extracts of Cassia fistula was determined by the DPPH, FRAP, Fe3+ reducing power, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay. Methanolic extracts of Cassia fistula showed the highest amount of phenolic and flavonoid content and reducing capacity, whereas hexane extracts exhibited the lowest level of reducing capacity. The order of antioxidant activity in Cassia fistula extracts displayed from higher to lower level as methanolic extracts of pulp, methanolic extracts of seed, hexane extracts of pulp, and hexane extracts of seed. The antioxidant potential of Cassia fistula extracts significantly correlated ( ) with the phenolic content of the methanolic extracts. Ascorbic acid taken as control showed highest antioxidant power in the present study. 1. Introduction Cassia fistula Linn. (Caesalpiniaceae) has great therapeutic implication in Indian system of medicine and exerts an antipyretic, analgesic, antiinflammatory, and hypoglycemic effects [1, 2]. Over the past few years, there has been an exponential growth in study of pharmacological properties of this plant [3¨C5]. Antioxidant components are microconstituents that inhibit lipid oxidation by inhibiting the initiation or propagation of oxidizing chain reactions, and are also involved in scavenging of free radicals. Clinical approaches of antioxidants increased multifold during the recent time for the management and therapeutic implication of neurodegenerative disorders, aging, and chronic degenerative diseases. In view of the above, we designed the study to evaluate the antioxidant potential and phenolic content in Cassia fistula. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Reagent and Chemicals All the chemicals and solvents were of analytical grade and obtained from Merck and HiMedia, Mumbai, India. 2.2. Preparation of Cassia fistula Extracts The fresh ripe fruits of Cassia fistula were collected in June from the campus of Delhi College of Pharmaceutical Science and Research (DIPSAR), New Delhi, India, and properly authenticated. A voucher of specimen (PM 21) was stored in the laboratory for further reference. The fruit pulp and seed were separated and grounded to coarse powder. It was extracted with the hexane for 72£¿hrs and the same materials were reextracted with methanol for 72£¿hrs in soxhlet apparatus. The extract was filtered and dried in rotavapour. Hence, we obtained hexane extract of seed (HES), hexane extract of pulp (HEP), methanolic extract of seed (MES), and methanolic extract of pulp (MEP). 2.3. Estimation of Total Phenolic Content The total phenol content was estimated in
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