Physico-chemical, Phytochemical Evaluation and Dpph-scavenging Antioxidant Potential in Medicinal Plants Used for Herbal Formulation in Pakistan

The active parts of 11 medicinal plants were analyzed for physico-chemical evaluation, phytochemical determination and antioxidant activity. The physico-chemical evaluation revealed that highest water soluble extractive was from Origanum vulgare (38%), highest chloroform extractive was from Psoralea corylifolia (21%); highest ethanolic extractive was that of Acorus calamus (11%) and the highest hexane extractive value was for Arnebia nobilis (9.8%). The total ash content evaluation indicated that Achillea millefolium yielded (20.2 %) and Rauvolfia serpentina yielded (41.6%); these values are much higher than the standard ash values for these plants indicating that these drugs are highly adulterated and substandard. The highest essential oil was yielded by Acorus calamus (3.2%). The highest saponin percentage was analyzed in Acorus calamus (8.9%), while the alkaloids percentage was determined at 21% in Peganum harmala. Among all the plants assessed for DPPH free radical scavenging activity, the maximum activity was shown by Paeonia emodi (85.8%), followed by Achillea millefolium (81.7%) and Origanum vulgare (80.3%).