Studies on antioxidative activities of methanol extract from Murraya paniculata

Murraya paniculata (L.), a well-known medical plant, has widely been used to treat inflammation, stomach ache, internal and external injuries, and for other purposes. In this study, we determined the reducing, lipid peroxidation inhibition, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil radical (DPPH) scavenging, superoxide anion radical (O2−) scavenging, hydroxyl radical (HO) scavenging and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging activities of the methanolic extract of M. paniculata (MPE) by UV–vis spectrophotometer. The results showed that M. paniculata was rich in flavonoids (375 mg RE/g of extract). Reducing, lipid peroxidation inhibition and HO scavenging activities of the extract were 0.26 mg/mL, 0.023 mg/mL and 0.302 mg/mL, respectively, these activities were significantly higher than those of trolox. Other antioxidative behavior indicators, i.e., DPPH scavenging, O2− scavenging and H2O2 scavenging activities of MPE were 0.93 mg/mL, 0.581 mg/mL and 0.47 mg/mL, respectively, and were comparable to those exhibited by trolox. These results indicate that the methanolic extract of M. paniculata exhibited strong antioxidative and radical scavenging activities.