Asian Journal
Of Traditional Medicines

Abstract: The present investigation was carried out to screen the free radical scavenging capacity of three well known Indian curry species namely Emblica, Piper and Terminalia based on their poly phenol content. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the major phenolics in the spice aqueous extracts were conducted by high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). Among the three species, Terminalia spices contained high levels of phenolics and exhibited a high free radical scavenging capacity tested using DPPH and a nitric oxide scavenging assay. A wide variation in the total phenolic content (7.3 to 800 µg gallic acid equivalent/1000 µg) was observed. A highly positive linear relationship (R² = 0.95) was found between the scavenging DPPH assay values and the total phenolic content showed that the phenolic compounds in the tested spices contributed significantly to their antioxidant activity. However, there was an indirect linear relationship between the scavenging nitric oxide value and the total phenol content. The major types of phenolic compounds identified in the spice extracts were phenolic acids, flavonoids such as rutin and quercetin. This study provides direct comparative data on the free radical capacity and total poly phenol content of three very widely used spices.

Key words: free radical, poly phenol, antioxidants, HPTLC, nitric oxide