Phytochemical and Antioxidant Studies of Salvadora persica L. Stem & Twig

Salvadora persica L. commonly known as Miswak and have immense medicinal value as anti-microbial and in prevention of tooth decay. Present study deals with phytochemical and antioxidant evaluation of S. persica twig and stem. Chloroform and ethanolic extracts from S. persica twig and stem are screened for antioxidant activity using, DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Methanolic extract has been studied through HPTLC. In S. persica twig, IC50 of chloroform extract and ethanolic extract was found to be 181.33 ± 1.15 μg/ml and 197.00 ± 1.73 μg/ml respectively, however in stem, IC50 of chloroform extract and ethanolic extract was found to be 187.33 ± 0.57 μg/ml and 235.66 ± 1.52 μg/ml respectively. Ascorbic acid is used as standard which showed IC50 2.03 ± 0.06 μg/ml. In HPTLC studies the ferulic acid content was found to be 0.026% and 0.082% in S. persica stem and twig respectively. All the extracts showed significant in vitro antioxidant activity, chloroform extract showed the most potent activity followed by ethanolic extract. Ferulic acid, a potential antioxidant present in this species, has been studied through HPTLC. The presence of ferulic acid has not yet been reported and quantified in this species which may be utilized for the proper standardization of the drug.