There is increasing evidence to support the involvement of free radical reactions in several human diseases. In recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that in man, free radicals play a critical role in a variety of normal regulatory systems, the de-regulation of which may play an important role in inflammation. Active oxygen species and other free radicals have long been known to be mutagenic. Further, these agents have more recently emerged as mediators of the other phenotypic and genotypic changes that lead from mutations to neoplasia. Therefore, free radicals may contribute widely to cancer development in humans. The antioxidant activities of the plant extract and pure compounds were assessed on the basis of radical scavenging effect of the stable DPPH free radical. In the present study we evaluated free radical scavenging activity of three chromatographically purified fractions of aqueous extracts of Ricinus communis leaves. The three fractions of Ricinus communis leaf extracts labeled as RcB1, RcB2 and RcB3 and two standards Ascorbic acid and Quercitin were tested for antioxidant activity using DPPH assay and Nitric Oxide Radical Inhibition assay. Among the three purified fractions the RcB1 and RcB2 showed significant anti-oxidant activity with IC50 value of 120µg/ml and 60µg/ml respectively for DPPH and 87µg/ml and 70µg/ml for Nitric Oxide, while as the RcB3 showed no anti-oxidant activity even at very high concentrations.
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