Author(s): Boskey Pancholi

Abstract: Petrolium ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts of six medicinally important arid zone plants of India, viz. Gisekiapharn aceoides, Lepidagathis trinervis, Mollugo nudicaulis, Polycarpea corymbosa, Sericostoma pauciflorum and Trianthem adecandra belonging to different families were investigated. Total levels of phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant potentials were analyzed using Folin-Ciocalteau method, AlCl₃spectrophotometic method, DPPH and FRAP methods respectively. Among all the test extracts, total phenolics was found to be higher in ethyl acetate fractions of S. pauciflorum (123.26 ± 0.75 mg GAE/g extract), total flavonoids in ethyl acetate fraction of M. nudicaulis (30.05 ±1.04 mg QE/g extract), while the lowest IC₅₀ (5.5 µg/ml with % inhibition of 96.22 and 96.17 µg/ml respectively) in ethyl acetate and methanol fractions of L. trinervis. However, in FRAP method the maximum absorbance was found to be in ethyl acetate extract of L. trinervis.