ABSTRACT:
Angiopteris evecta (G. Forst.) Hoffm. (Marattiaceae) is a traditionally used medicinal pteridophyte of Southern Assam, India, used as analgesics, antipyretics, for the treatment of intestinal ulcer, stomachache and bone fracture by various tribal communities. Qualitative phytochemical screening guided inve scavenging activities of hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts of the fronds of the plant have been made in this study. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts was followed by quantification of Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) by following standard protocol. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were studied by using standard DPPH scavenging assay, reducing power assay, metal chelating assay, hydroxyl, superoxide and ABTS radical scavenging methods in different in vitro systems. The preliminary phytochemical screening results implicated the presence of phenolic and flavonoid compounds in all the prepared extracts. The methanolic extract of the fronds showed maximum phenolic as well as flavonoid content in comparison to the other extracts. Antioxidant potentiality of the said extracts was also found to be impressive and noteworthy. The decreasing orders of the antioxidative power of all the extracts have also been found to be similar to that of TPC and TFC of the extracts. Therefore, the methanol extract of the fronds of the plant may be treated as a potential source of natural antioxidants. gations of antioxidant as well as free radical.