Antioxidant Potential of Tinospora cordifolia Extracts and their Protective Effect on Oxidation of Biomolecules

Tinospora cordifilia is a medicinal plant, commonly known as guduchi or amritha. In the present study, the antioxidant potential of solvent extracts of leaf and stem were evaluated by various in vitro methods. Scavenging effects on DPPH, ABTS radical, hydroxyl radical and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were found to be highest in methanolic extract of leaf and ethyl acetate extract of stem compared to all other extracts. These extracts also exhibited significant protection against radical induced protein (BSA ) oxidation and plasmid DNA damage (pBR322). The extracts were further evaluated for their inhibitory properties on AAPH (2, 2′-azo (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride induced ex vivo oxidative stress in rat liver homogenates. The results again showed the potent antioxidant nature of methanolic extract of leaf and ethyl acetate extract of stem with respect to inhibition of lipid and protein oxidation. Overall, stem extracts showed to be the more effective antioxidant source than the leaf extracts with regard to all the radical scavenging activities. These protective properties of the extracts could be directly attributed to the presence of phytochemicals such as polyphenols, tannins etc. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the potential antioxidant activities of guduchi leaf as well as stem and therefore, it can be used as a source of antioxidant for health benefits through dietary supplementations.