Phytochemical Analysis and Free-Radical Scavenging Activity of Flacourtia indica (Burm.f.) Merr.

Flacourtia indica dichloromethane (DCM), butanol (BuOH), methanol (MeOH) extract of stem bark and methanolic extract of leaves were screened for in vitro antioxidant activity using different models. Subsequent quantification showed the presence of 15.62 and 11.53%w/w phenolics; 1.15 and 1.80%w/ w of flavonol in methanol extract of stem bark and leaf of Flacourtia indica (F. indica) respectively. The methanolic extract showed an effective DPPH radical scavenging activity with low IC₅₀ values of 17.5 and 21 µg/ml respectively and hydroxyl radical scavenging by p-NDA method with IC₅₀ value of 350.23 µg/ml. Butanolic extract showed nitric oxide radical inhibition activity with IC₅₀ value of 28.5 µg/ml. The greater amount of phenolic compounds leads to more potent radical scavenging effect as shown by F. indica extracts. The antioxidant property of the extracts may be due to presence of phenolic content.