In-vitro Antioxidant Activity of Methanol Extract of Medicinal Herbals Used in Athiyathi Kashayam: A Siddha Polyherbal Formulation

Abstract

Antidiabetic drugs possess antioxidant properties that help to manage diabetic complications associated with oxidative stress. Athiyathi Kashayam (AK) is a polyherbal formulation consisting of Ficus racemosa, Syzygium cumini, Salacia reticulata, Cassia auriculata, and Cassia fistula. According to Siddha literature, it is utilized in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM). There has been a study reported on the antioxidant potential of Kashayam in India. However, there has been no investigation done on methanol extract of the herbs used in AK. Objective: To evaluate antioxidant activity of methanol extract of medicinal herbals used in Athiyathi Kashayam using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and ferric reduction assay Methods: The fresh barks of F. racemosa, S. cumini, C. auriculata, C. fistula were collected from Kegalle District and S. reticulata was collected from Mullaithivu District. They were shade dried and powdered into fine powder. The crude drug was prepared according to the specified ratio, with equal amount of F. racemosa, S. cumini and S. reticulate and double amount of C. auriculata and C. fistula. The methanol extract of polyherbal formulation was prepared by the maceration process. The in-vitro anti-oxidant activity of polyherbal extract was evaluated through DPPH assay and ferric reduction assay using ascorbic acid as the standard. Results: The IC50 value of methanol extracts of AK was found to be 18.78 μg/mL, whereas in ascorbic acid it was 11.92 μg/mL. The ascorbic acid equivalents in ferric reduction assay for the formulation was 76.48 μg/mL, AAE/g at 200 μg/mL concentration. Conclusions: This study indicated that, methanolic extract of the polyherbal AK was found to exhibit strong antioxidant activity. Further studies are needed to understand the in-vivo antioxidant potential of the polyherbal formulation.