Evaluation of antioxidant potential of Capsicum frutescens

Capsicum frutescens has been known to contain a high level of antioxidant components. We investigated antioxidant activities in various solvent extracts from C. frutescens. The aim of this study is to evaluate invitro antioxidant activity of acetone, carbinol, hot water and hexane extracts of Capsicum frutescens.  Preliminary analysis revealed that all the four extracts responded positively for all the phytoconstituents. Acetone extract showed the strongest phenolic and tannin content; showed highest activity for FRAP, ABTS, Superoxide Radical and Hydroxyl Radical Scavenging Activity.  The present study explored that Capsicum frutescens has efficient antioxidant activity and could act as safe and cost-effective with potential biological applications. Keywords: Capsicum frutescens, Antioxidant, Free radical scavengers, ABTS, FRA

Investigation of Bioactive Compounds of Capsicum Frutescence and Annona Muricata by Chromatographic Techniques

Botanicals and herbal preparations for medicinal usage contain various types of bioactive compounds. The focus of this paper is on the analytical methodologies, which include the extraction, characterization of active ingredients in Capsicum frutescens fruits and Annona muricata L. leaves. Capsicum frutescens used for various problems with digestion including upset for conditions of the heart and blood vessels including poor circulation, excessive blood clotting, high cholesterol, and preventing heart disease. Whereas Annona muricata L. leaves are traditionally used to treat diabetes. People have been consuming raw leaves of Annona muricata L. to control blood glucose levels. The present investigation was designed to study the phytochemical profiling and bioactive component principles of Capsicum frutescens and Annona muricata by Thin layer Chromatography. Bio autography agar overlay test was done to detect the antimicrobial activity of the extracts. The results of this study confirmed the presence of various bioactive compounds in the acetone and methanol extracts of both the plants. The chromatographic analysis revealed that Capsicum frutescens fruit extract and Annona muricata leaf extract are composed of various Alkaloids, Terpenoids, Saponins, and Phenolics which are accountable for many biological activities. Bio autography assays shows that Capsicum frutescens shows growth inhibition against bacteria, but Annona muricata does not shown any significant activity. The findings of present study implies that both extracts are potent source for some medicinally important phytochemicals with antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Keywords: Phytochemicals; Thin Layer Chromatography; Bio autography

Evaluation of in vitro antioxidant activity of edible Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi

Introduction: Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi have been known for their nutritional values they can be considered as functional foods which can provide health benefits beyond the traditional nutrients. They are the excellent source of natural antioxidants because some synthetic antioxidants are now suspected to be potentially harmful to human health. As free radicals can cause inflammatory diseases, cancer, atherosclerosis, and aging, Consuming dietary antioxidant supplements can inhibit oxidative chain reactions. Materials and Methods: The antioxidant potential of the basidiomycetes mushroom fungal strains was established by total flavonoid content, FRAP assay, ABTS assay, Metal chelating activity, Phosphomolybdenum assay, Assay of superoxide radical scavenging activity, Free radical scavenging activity on DPPH along with the determination of total phenolic and tannin contents in the mushroom mycelial extracts.  Results: Different Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi extracts (Hot water, Acetone and Hexane) were tested for antioxidant activities. Among these different extracts of Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi the hexane extract of Pleurotus pulmonarius showed potential antioxidant activity. Discusion and Conclusion: The results of this study suggest the possibility of using Basidiomycetes mushroom fungi as a natural antioxidant source for the pharmaceutical industry and could act as safe and cost-effective with potential antioxidant activities. These findings encourage studying these fungal strains further for their potential biological applications. Keywords: Flavonoid, Tannin, FRAP, ABTS, DPPH and Free Radica