Evaluation of Nitric Oxide Scavenging Activity of Rumex vesicarius L.

Rumex vesicarius L. (Polygonaceae) commonly known as "Bladder dock" is an annual herb, cultivated as green leafy vegetable in several parts of India and used in daily diet. Antioxidant therapy is found to be useful in curing chronic complicated diseases related with free radical activity. Antioxidant potential of Rumex vesicarius L. was determined by Nitric oxide free radical scavenging assay, by Griess reagent method. The extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate, ethanol and aqueous) of the plant were screened for preliminary phytoconstituents, antioxidant activity and total antioxidant capacity. The evaluation revealed the presence of phytoconstituents flavonoids, phenols, tannins and saponins. The extracts showed significant inhibition percentage by dose dependent manner. Of all the five extracts analyzed the ethanol extract showed maximum inhibition percent of 76.86, while the hexane extract showed minimum inhibition percent of 31.92. In the present study the extracts of the plant showed significant antioxidant activity and total antioxidant capacity on compared with standard antioxidant. The present study is also an extension for the formulation and evaluation of different antioxidants from natural sources.