Asian Journal
Of Traditional Medicines

Abstract: The plant Hygrophila auriculata (K. Schum) Heine, (Acanthaceae), has been traditionally used for the treatment of inflammation, pain, urinary infection, edema, gout and as a diuretic. This study was designed to investigate the free radical scavenging activity of the whole plant extract and its fractions. The aqueous, alcoholic, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions or the terpenoid-rich fraction (TRF) separated from the alcoholic extract of Hygrophila auriculata (AEHA) were prepared and the total phenolic content was estimated. Free radical scavenging activity was assessed by inhibition of 1, 1’-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), deoxyribose degradation against OH·;, nitric oxide and lipid peroxidation radical assays. The TRF of (10–100 μg/ml) exhibited high DPPH radical scavenging capacity. The TRF at the same concentration showed a dose-dependent inhibition of nitric oxide, and hydroxyl radical than AEHA. Interestingly, the TRF protects the rat brain tissue against oxidative stress as indicated by inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Vitamin E (10–100 μg/ml) was used as a positive control. Collectively, our results indicate that the terpenoid-rich fraction from Hygrophila auriculata has the potential to scavenge free radicals and act as an antioxidant.

Key words: Hygrophila auriculata (K. Schum) Heine, terpenoids, free radicals scavenging capacity