Research Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

N. Kanaka Durga Devi ¹, Suresh Ganji ², Pravallika Maddu ², Poojitha Jasti ², Murthy Merla ², Karuna Sree Varicola ¹

Affiliations
1 KVSR. Siddhartha College of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Vijayawada-10, IN
2 KVSR.Siddhartha College of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Vijayawada-10, IN

Abstract

Borassus flabellifer is a native food item in some parts of India. It bears 2-3 kernels per fruit. In normal practice the translucent jelly along with watery liquid which are highly nutritious are consumed and the outer peel is discarded. Methanol extract of this peel is evaluated for its antioxidant activity by DPPH method and by determination of Ferric reducing ability. Anthelmintic potential was studied on Pheritima posthuma, the Indian earth worms. The time of paralysis as well as time of death was recorded. The extracts in the tested dose showed significant anthelmintic activity which was comparable to Albendazole .Treatment with 100mg/ml methanol extract showed the time of paralyse as 37 ± 0.30 min, and death was reported at 44 ± 0.45 min, which confirms a promising anthelmintic activity as compared to the standard drug. Hence, these extracts can be used to treat helminthiasis, which is one among the important diseases with a high rate of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. These extracts showed potent antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 5.2 μg/ml by DPPH method .This was a comparable result with reference to the standard drug ie,Ascorbic acid. Therefore the extracts possess a dual role as anthelmintic as well as an anti-oxidant.

Keywords

Borassus flabellifer, Helminthiasis, Pheritima posthuma, DPPH, Free Radical.

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