Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology

Alpinia calcarata Roscoe is one of the important medicinal plants belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. In the present study, the antioxidant potential of the crude methanol extracts of the leaves of Alpinia calcarata was investigated.

The four different antioxidant assays used were 2, 2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assays while the total phenolic content was assessed using the Folin-Ciocalteu method.

Alpinia calcarata leaves showed good free radical scavenging activity as evidenced by the IC50 values in DPPH (84.54μg/ml), in ABTS (68.32μg/ml), in nitric oxide (90.05μg/ml) and in H2O2 (98.49μg/ml) scavenging assays. Furthermore the Total phenolic content of the extract was found to be 59.25mg Gallic acid equivalent per gram of extract.

The phenolic compounds present in the extract might be responsible for antioxidant properties of the crude extract. The leaf extract of A. calcarata showed good antioxidant activity and can be potentially used for isolation of natural antioxidant molecules.