Antioxidant activities of the chloroform extract of Solanum trilobatum

A chloroform extract from the anticancer herb Solanum trilobatum (CST) (Nadkarni, 1979) was analyzed and compared with reference antioxidants for its in vitro antioxidative properties such as scavenging of alpha,alpha-diphenyl-beta-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide radicals, protection to deoxyribose degradation, reducing power, as well as inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Preliminary phytochemical analysis of CST by silica gel thin-layer chromatography showed the presence of simple phenols, phenolic acids, isoflavones, xanthones, and lignans. The antioxidative effect of CST was found to be concentration dependent to a certain extent and then leveled off with further increase in concentration. The IC50 for each antioxidative reaction studied was calculated. When compared to the reference antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), CST exhibited less scavenging effect on DPPH radicals and reducing power but a better superoxide radical scavenging effect. From a comparison of the hydroxyl radical scavenging effect of CST with catechin, it seemed that CST was four-times more effective than catechin. CST was also able to prevent the formation of .OH-induced malondialdehyde (MDA) in rat liver homogenate.