In vitro antioxidant and inhibitory effects of Myristica fragrans,Illicuim verum,Curculigo orchioeides,Glycyrrhiza glabra and Embelia ribes against lipid peroxidation in mice liver

The study was designed to assess and compare the antioxidant properties of plants namely,glycyrrhiza glabra,illicuim verum,myristica fragrans,curculigo orchioeides,and embelia ribes. to demonstrate lipid peroxidation in mice liver,extract - sodium nitroprusside (5μm) or ferrous sulphate (10 μm) was introduced to produce thiobarbituric acid reactive species (tbars). all plant extracts showed lipid peroxidation inhibitions as revealed by decrease in tbars. the higher decrease in lipid peroxidation i.e greater antioxidant activity was observed in g. glabra while e. ribes showed relatively weak antioxidant activity. the order of their decreasing lipid peroxidation inhibitory effect and antioxidant activity was g. glabra > i. verum > m. fragrans > c. orchioeides > e. ribes. their scavenging activity on dpph,reducing power and total phenolic contents were also determined which had shown high antioxidant activity and the order of their antioxidant activity was found same as for lipid peroxidation inhibitory effect. the higher inhibitory effect of g. glabra may be due to high phenolic compounds capable of having reducing ability and free radical scavenging activities. thus,the antioxidants in medicinal plants could be used to oppose oxidative stress in liver and reduce the risk of many free radical related diseases.