In-vitro ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF THREE SOLVENT EXTRACTS OF Solanum nigrum: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

In traditional system of medicine, Solanum nigrum (Solanaceae) has been considered as a remedy for treating various ailments like epilepsy, gastric ulcers etc. and is believed to have hepatoprotective activities. In this study, the total phenolic and flavonoid content of three extracts namely petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol of the Solanum nigrum leaves and their antioxidant activity was carried out by using spectrophotometric methods. Methanol extract with high absorbance exhibited highest antioxidant activity containing highest quantity of phenolics and flavonoids followed by ethyl acetate and petroleum ether. The presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds indicated that these compounds can contribute to the antioxidant activity. These active constituents alone or in combination with others may be responsible for the observed antioxidant activity. The findings indicated promising antioxidant activity of crude extracts of leaves needs further exploration for their effective use in both modern and traditional system of medicines. The Solanum nigrum leaf can be regarded as promising candidate for natural plant sources of antioxidants with higher values. A comparative study of the total phenolic and flavonoid contents extracted by the solvents,and their in-vitro antioxidant activity that could be an effective remedy in hepatoprotection was carried out in the study.