Background: Datura
(family- Solanaceae), has a long history of being used as herbal medicine. These medicinal effects have been
attributed to the phytochemicals present in the plant leaves and seeds, in particular alkaloids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds.
The objective of this study was to investigate the methanolic leaf and seed extracts of
Datura innoxia
(DLP-I & DSP-I) and
Datura metel
(DLP-M & DSP-M) for their total phenolic, flavonoids and
in-vitro antioxidant properties.
Materials and Methods: Determination of total phenolic content and total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in terms of
total antioxidant assay, ABTS assay, DPPH assay and
in-vitro lipid peroxidation inhibiting activity were determined along with the
FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis of the extracts.
Results: The highest total phenolic and total flavonoid content were registered by the
D. innoxia leaf extract (70.26 ± 1.12 mg
GAE/g and 34.24 ± 1.28 mg RE/g respectively). Maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity was exerted by the leaf extract of
D.
innoxia (IC
50 = 146.69 ± 8.46 μg/mL) among the four different methanolic extracts. The highest activity of the ABTS assay was
found in
Datura innoxia leaf extract (IC
50 value = 149.42 ± 13.43 μg/mL) and the highest total antioxidant capacity was found to be
present in
D. innoxia leaf extract (221.25 ± 1.06 mg AAE/g) whereas D. metel seed extract registered the maximum lipid
peroxidation inhibition activity (IC
50 = 112 ± 1.30 μg/mL). The FT-IR data also supported the maximum activity in
D. innoxia (leaf
and seed) extracts.
Conclusion: The results thus obtained suggested that the plant
Datura innoxia possess considerable antioxidant activity over Datura
metel and therefore can be established as a potential source of natural antioxidant.
