Phytochemical screening and Antioxidant Potential of Alstonia scholaris Linn leaf Extracts

Medicinal plants play important roles in our daily life to treat many diseases and ailments. Research in medicinal plants reflects the recognition of the validity of many herbal products. Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. (A. scholaris, Apocynaceae) commonly called as Indian devil tree has been used as folklore medicines, possesses different pharmacological activities and potentially used as antimalarial drug.  In alternative medicinal systems it is effective against different ailments such as asthma, malaria, fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, epilepsy, skin diseases and snakebite. The aim of the present study was to evaluate in vitro antioxidant activities, qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of leaves of A. scholaris collected from Bhopal region of Madhya Pradesh. Qualitative analysis of various phytochemical constituents and quantitative analysis of total phenol and flavonoids were determined by the well-known test protocol available in the literature. The in vitro antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of the leaves was assessed against DPPH radical scavenging assay methods using standard protocols. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phenols, diterpines, flavonoids, proteins, carbohydrates and saponins. The total phenol and flavonoids content of methanolic leaves extract of A. scholaris was found to be 0.876, 0.757mg/100mg respectively. The activities of methanolic extracts against DPPH assay method were concentration dependent. The diverse array of phytochemicals present in the plant thus suggests its therapeutic potentials which may be explored in drug manufacturing industry as well as in traditional medicine. Keywords: A. scholaris L, Apocynaceae, Antioxidant activity, DPPH assay method.