In Vitro Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical Screening of Aqueous and Nonaqueous Extracts of Vernonia Cinerea Flowers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-oxidant activity of the flowers of the plant Vernonia cinerea (Family: Asteraceae). Flowers extracts of V. cinerea in different four organic solvents (methanol, hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate) and water were assayed for antioxidant activity using FRAP assay. All of these extracts were found to possess significant antioxidant activity at 5mg/ml concentration. The methanol extract of V. cinerea flowers showed highest TAC FRAP value (24.5 μmol/ml)) and it was lowest (4.0 μmol/ml) with chloroform extract of flowers. The phytochemical tests indicated the presence of flavonoids in methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts. Tannins in methanol, Saponins in methanol, ethyl acetate and water, steroids in hexane, triterpenoids and glycosides in methanol and chloroform, vitamin C in methanol, phenolic constituents in methanol and ethyl acetate extracts, respectively. The study shows that V. cinerea flowers possess significant antioxidant capacities and may play a role in scavenging the free radical attack on biomembranes.