Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Aspidium cicutarium Rhizome

Objective: To evaluate the free radical scavenging activity of methanolic extract of Aspidium cicutarium rhizome. Materials and methods: Preliminary phytochemical analysis, estimation of total phenolic content and total tannin content was carried out as a part of phytochemical evaluation of Aspidium cicutarium rhizome. Free radical scavenging activity was studied using two in vitro models viz., DPPH assay and superoxide scavenging assay. Results: Preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of phenols, tannins, flavonoids and sterols. Total phenolics and total tannin content was found to be 17.35% (w/w) and 7.98 % (w/w) respectively. Methanolic extract of A. cicutarium rhizome showed concentration dependent free radical scavenging activity comparable to that of the positive controls pyrogallol and ascorbic acid in the respective models. EC₅₀ was found to be 30.63 μg/ml and 85.19 μg/ml in DPPH assay and superoxide scavenging assay respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that methanolic extract of Aspidium cicutarium rhizome exhibited good free radical scavenging activity.