Vol. 7, Issue 5 (2018)

Author(s):
Veerapagu M, Jeya KR, Sankaranarayanan A and Rathika A

Abstract:
Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae) has been extensively used in traditional medicine in India and other parts of the world to cure liver disorders, chronic skin ailments, inflammatory conditions, painful periods, fevers, diarrhea, eye diseases etc. In the present study crude methanolic extract of fruits of Solanum nigrum L. were prepared and evaluated for the presence of total phenol content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity by DPPH assay and H₂O₂ radical scavenging assay. The total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and flavonoid/ Phenol (F/P) of methanolic extract of S.nigrum L. fruits were 4.57 ± 0.57 GAE/g, 3.61± 0.07 mg QAE/g and 0.78. The fruit extract shown marked antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ value of 70.73 μg/ml for DPPH radical scavenging and IC₅₀ 59.72 μg/ml for Hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity. Based on the above results it was concluded that the methanolic extract of S.nigrum fruits exhibited significant antioxidant activity and it could be a good source of natural antioxidants for the treatment of metabolic diseases