ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF GALIUM APARINE L. FROM PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

The petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts of Galium aparine were screened for their antioxidant activity. DPPH radical scavenging ability and total phenolic contents of the plant were determined. The percentage yield, colour and texture of the plant extracts were also determined. Methanol extract of the selected plant had the highest antioxidant for reducing DPPH (84.33%) while its water extract exhibited least antioxidant activity for reducing DPPH (8.77%). These results were compared with the standards i.e., alpha-Tocopherol and BHT. Methanol extract of the plant had highest amount of total phenols (124.8 mu g of Gallic acid equivalent to one gm of extract) which correlates with the DPPH radical scavenging assay. The study exposed that the utilization of these plants would exert several valuable effects by virtue of their antioxidant activity.