In vitro antioxidant activity of two edible Timbur fruits of Darjeeling Himalaya

Abstract

Frec radicals are implicated for many chronic, painful and near-fatal diseases including Diabetes mellitus, arthritis, cancer, apoptosis, neurodegenerative disorders etc. In treatment of these discases, antioxidant therapy has gained an utmost importance and current rescarch is now directed towards finding naturaly occurring antioxidants of plant origin. Edible Timburs namely Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. and Litsea cubeba (Loureiro) Persoon are traditionally usced as spices in different Nepali recipes. In the present study, the fruits of these plants were extracted with aqucous methanol (1:4) to examinc the in vitro antioxidant property, phenol content and phytochemical constituents. The scavenging activities on DPPH free radicals, superoxide anions and per-oxidized lipid molecules were determined as well as the flavonoid and phenolic constitucnts of the extracts. The extracts exhibited significant scavenging activity towards DPPH free radicals and high anti-lipid peroxidation values duc to the presence of relatively high total phenol contents. Also, these spices contain a vast array of different phytochemicals in their dry form. These results suggest that both Zanthoxylum acanthopodium and Litsea cubeba fruits are endowed with antioxidant phytochemicals and could serve as basal ingredients for nutraceutical formulations.