Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity of Ocimum sp.

Extracts of leaves of Ocimum gratissimum and O. basilicum were investigated for antioxidant activities. The proximate composition determination revealed that extracts of Ocimum sp. had a high crude protein content (20.18 and 20.15), respectively. The crude fibre and ash content were high and the physicochemical parameters of the extracts were found to be similar. About 11-14% Vitamin E was obtained from the extracts as Vitamin E is said to be the most abundant lipid soluble antioxidants. An evaluation of the antioxidant effectiveness of the two extracts were carried out and compared with the synthetic antioxidant (BHT). Extracts of the spice were found to exhibit effective antioxidant activities as the synthetic antioxidants except for the green pigment of the extract. O. basilicum exhibited an appreciable antioxidant effectiveness which is significantly equal to the activity of BHT at THE 5th and 10th days during the 20 days of storage.