Total Phenolic and Ascorbic Acid Contents and Antioxidant Activities of Twelve Different Ecotypes of Phyllanthus emblica from Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the in vitro antioxidant activities, total phenolic and ascorbic acids contents, and the possible protective effects of of Indian gooseberry against lipid peroxidation induced by iron and sodium nitroprusside in mouse brain homogenates. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by different antioxidative assays, including thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), total antioxidant and 2, 2-diphenlyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities. The aqueous extracts of P. emblica showed inhibition against TBARS induced by different pro-oxidants in mouse brain homogenates. All aqueous extracts of twelve different ecotypes collected from different areas of Azad Kashmir showed high DPPH radical scavenging activities and total antioxidant activities. The higher antioxidant activities of different ecotypes of P. emblica might be due the presence of higher total phenolic and ascorbic acid contents. The results suggest that different accessions of P. emblica are potential sources of antioxidants and have therapeutic effects for disease induced by oxidative stress.