In vitro antioxidant activity of Diospyros malabarica Kostel bark.

Antioxidant activity of defatted methanol extract of D. malabarica bark was studied for its free radical scavenging property on different in vitro models e.g. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide, superoxide, hydroxyl radical and lipid peroxide radical model. The extract showed good dose-dependent free radical scavenging property in all the models except in hydroxyl radical inhibition assay. IC50 values were found to be 9.16, 13.21, 25.27 and 17.33 microg/ml respectively in DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays. In hydroxyl radical inhibition assay 1000 microg/ml extract showed only 10% inhibition with respect to the control. Measurement of total phenolic compounds by Folin-Ciocalteu's phenol reagent indicated that 1 mg of the extract contained 120.7 microg equivalent of pyrocatechol. The results indicate that the antioxidant property of the extract may be due to the high content of phenolic compounds. However, the underlying mechanism may not involve hydroxyl radical scavenging property.