FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY AND GC-MS ANALYSIS OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF FICUS RACEMOSA L. LEAVES OF BUNDELKHAND REGION

Ficus racemosa L. popularly known as the cluster fig has been found effective for the treatment of various disorders like diabetes, diarrhoea, inflammatory conditions, piles, respiratory, urinary diseases, etc. The present study is therefore aimed to investigate the phytochemical constituents, GCMS analysis, antioxidant potential, total phenolic & flavonoid contents in the leaf extracts of F. racemosa. A qualitative screening of aqueous and methanolic extracts showed the presence of Alkaloids, Flavonoids, glycosides, tannins, saponin and phenolic compounds. In TLC, total 5 spots were present in the methanolic extract with different Rf values. The total flavonoid and phenolic contents are 160.4 ± 48.51 mg QE/g & 40.68 ± 9.17 mg GAE/g respectively. The dose dependent antioxidant activity was found. GS-MS analysis was done based on retention time, peak area and molecular weight. The presence of secondary metabolites depends on the solvents used and the methods applied. Many biologically active components were present as analysed by GCMS. The highest peak area of isoamyl nitrite (4.205%) was observed. The antioxidant activity could be attributed due to the presence of phenolic and flavonoids contents. Thus the present study suggests that F. racemosa leaves extract could be used as a possible therapeutic agent for a variety of diseases.