Comparative Study to Evaluate Ethanol and Ethyl Acetate Extracts of Different 'Vidanga' Species for Antioxidant Efficacy and Phyto-Constituents Screening

In Ayurveda, ‘Vidanga’ is one such species high in demand for its various uses. All the species of genus Embelia and Maesa belonging to the family Myrsinaceae are reported as ‘Vidanga’. Considering the availability of plant material in the market there is an ambiguity in supplying the authentic species as ‘Vidanga’. In the present study, a comparative analysis was carried out to determine the efficacy of different 'Vidanga’ spp. in terms of their phyto-constituents, antioxidant potential, and free radical scavenging activity. The highest total phenolic contents (TPCs) and total flavonoid contents (TFCs) were found to be in ethanolic and ethyl acetate extract. Quantitative measurements also showed that abundance of phenolic and flavonoid phytoconstituents was significantly (P<0.001) greater in ethanolic extract of all the ‘Vidanga’ fractions (1.773±0.01 to 137.17±0.19 mg/g GAE and 4.84±0.001 to 302.29±0.07 mg/g of quercetin respectively) than in ethyl acetate extract (1.15±0.003 to 15.12±0.01 mg/g GAE and 7.94±0.05 to 25.20±0.001 mg/g of quercetin respectively). Ethanolic extract of Embelia ribes had significant activity in terms of IC50 than ethyl acetate extracts in the case of 2,2-diphenyl,1- picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and anti-lipid peroxidation (ALP) (9.53, 9.73 and 6.21 µg/mL respectively) indicates Embelia ribes found to be most effective species as ‘Vidanga’. Pearson’s correlation (r2) analysis also suggests a significant correlation between different antioxidant parameters and bioactive constituents. This study may helpful to draw attention of researchers to characterize the various bioactive compounds from the Embelia ribes in terms of their antioxidant prospective.