Free radical scavenging property of Annona reticulata leaves

Annona reticulata belonging to the family Annonaceae is traditionally used as anthelmintic and it is reported to have anticancer activity. Free radicals are known to be involved in various types of diseases like cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders etc. The present study was aimed to evaluate free radical scavenging property of methanol extract of the leaves of Annona reticulata in some in vitro models e.g. DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide and lipid peroxide radical model. The extract showed good dose-dependent free radical scavenging property in all the models. IC₅₀ values were found to be 3.22, 170.01, 25.12 and 140.12\;μg/ml respectively in DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays. Reductive ability of the extract was also tested based on potassium ferricyanide reduction where dose dependant reducing capability was observed. Measurement of total phenolic compounds by Folin-Ciocalteu's phenol reagent indicated that 1mg of the extract contained 146.20\;μg equivalent of pyrocatechol. The findings ascertain promising free radical scavenging property of the extract and the antioxidant property of the extract may be due to the high content of phenolic compounds.