A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF MIMOSA PUDICA L. AQUEOUS AND ALCOHOLIC PLANT EXTRACTS

Abstract

The present study was carried out to evaluate the comparative in vitro antioxidant activity of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Mimosa pudica L. using the DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Medicinal plants are considered important natural sources of antioxidants due to the presence of various phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins. In this study, aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the plant were prepared and tested at different concentrations ranging from 50–200 µg/ml. Ascorbic acid was used as the standard antioxidant. The reaction mixture containing sample extract and DPPH solution was incubated under dark conditions, and absorbance was measured at 517 nm using a UV-visible spectrophotometer. Both extracts exhibited significant free radical scavenging activity in a concentration-dependent manner. However, the alcoholic extract showed comparatively higher antioxidant activity than the aqueous extract, indicating better extraction efficiency of antioxidant hytoconstituents in ethanol. The antioxidant potential of Mimosa pudica L. may be attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds and flavonoids capable of neutralizing free radicals. The findings suggest that the plant can be considered a promising natural source of antioxidants with potential pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.