Phytochemical screening, physico-chemical analysis and antioxidant activity of some ethnomedicinal plants from Sikkim Himalaya

Abstract

The present study was carried out to determine the phytochemical constituents, physicochemical values and antioxidant activity of six traditionally used medicinal plants from Sikkim Himalaya according to the standard pharmacopoeial method. Antioxidant activity was determined in methanolic extracts by DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay, ferrous chelating assay and ferric ion reducing assay for methanol extracts, which showed that methanolic extracts of all six plants particularly at higher concentration exhibited better antioxidant property. The phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of various secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, phlobatannins, saponins, glycosides and good content of four major phytochemicals (Phenol, flavonoid, flavonol and tannin), which could account for the high antioxidant activity. The results suggest the potential of selected medicinal plants as a source of new agents for the treatment of diseases related to oxidative stresses.