Medicine

Acacia nilotica, Ocimum sanctum and Alpinia nigra are used traditionally in different ailments in rural settings of Bangladesh. These medicinal plants were studied for their total phenolic and total flavonoid contents as a partial approach to rationalize the use of them. Antioxidant activity was also determined measuring ferric reducing power assay and 1, 1’-Diphenyl-1Picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity. A. nilotica showed highest total phenolic content while O. sanctum showed highest flavonoid contents among the studied three plants. Similarly, IC50 values of the extracts of A. nilotica, O. sanctum and A. nigra against DPPH were 39.62, 48.81, 70.85 µg/ml, respectively. The reducing power of the extract was found to be concentration dependent and O. sanctum showed highest reducing power followed by A. nilotica. The reducing power of these two plants was fairly close to positive control ascorbic acid. Further studies are suggested such as in vivo testing and elucidation of mechanism of action of inherited bioactive compounds to support its folkloric use in the treatment of diseases.