| dc.description.abstract | Solanum nigrum also known as makoy plant or Black nightshade, is a commonly used herb with
ethnomedicinal importance. It is a Eurasian species, widely distributed in Middle East, India,
Africa. The plant is a constituent of several Indian medicines useful in relief of number of health
conditions like fever, stomach issues, dysentery, ulcers, asthma, jaundice and whooping cough. It
is said to have many therapeutic activities including antitumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,
hepatoprotective, diuretic, antipyretic activities. The present study includes evaluation of
phytochemical constituents, and in vitro antioxidant activities of extracts of Solanum nigrum
leaves with the aim to furnish more information on its therapeutic potential. Extraction of the
dried leaves of Solanum nigrum was carried in 70% ethanol followed by partitioning in, n-
haxane, Dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate and methanol. Preliminary phytochemical
screening of the extracts and all the fractions was carried out as per the standard methods.
Antioxidant study of the fractions was carried out by DPPH scavenging assay, nitric oxide
scavenging assay and by determination of reducing power. Phytochemical screening of all the
extracts and fractions revealed that n-hexane and DCM fractions contained maximum secondary
metabolites including alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, phenolic compounds and coumarin. The
extract was found to possess potent antioxidant activity which was found to be comparable to
standard antioxidant compounds. Reducing power of hexane and DCM fractions was found to
increase with increase in concentration and was comparable to ascorbic acid. The fractions also
scavenged the DPPH radical due to antioxidant potential. The IC50 value of quercetin, hexane
and DCM fraction was found to be 0.477±0.002, 44.067±0.001 and 62.569±0.002 respectively.
The two fractions also found to scavenge nitric oxide similar to ascorbic acid and the antioxidant
capacity was observed to increase with increasing concentration. IC50 value of ascorbic acid,
hexane and DCM fraction was found to be 116.127±0.003, 217.833±0.002 and 226.487±0.003
respectively. This study forms basis for future research activities on extracts and active
compounds of Solanum nigrum. | en_US |
