Comparative Evaluation of Antioxidant Potential of Different Parts of Barleria Gibsoni Dalz

We investigated the antioxidant activity of various parts (leaves, stem and root) of Barleria gibsoni by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay. The activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the leaves, stem and root were evaluated at concentrations of 200-1000 µg/ml using ascorbic acid as a standard. The antioxidant activity of all extracts was dose-dependent. Of the leaf extracts, the ethanolic extract had the greatest scavenging activity, with 85.79% inhibition at 1000 µg/ml, followed by the aqueous extract. Similarly, stem extracts also had good antioxidant activity, with the ethanolic extract showing the highest inhibition of 89.79% at 1000 µg/ml, higher than that of the leaf extracts. On the other hand, root extracts showed lower activity with a maximum inhibition of 71.26% for the ethanolic extract. In general, ethanolic extracts exhibited higher antioxidant activity than aqueous extracts in all plant parts, suggesting that ethanol is more effective in the extraction of active compounds. The results indicate that Barleria gibsoni, especially its stem and leaves, are a valuable source of antioxidant compounds and can be potentially used in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.