Antioxidant potential of young pods of Acacia catechu wild collected from Jabalpur region

Abstract

Acacia catechu is a multipurpose tree that produces nitrogen rich fodder and green manure, high quality fuel wood and charcoal, strong durable poles and timber. Apart from the most useful products i.e. Kutch or “Kattha”, which is strong antioxidant, astringent, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal in nature, other plant parts have not been investigated for other biological activities. The present study showcases a comprehensive investigation on young pods of Acacia catechu collected from Jabalpur. The pods were extracted sequentially with solvents of decreasing polarity in order to extract all the possible phytochemicals. The results show good antioxidant activity in ethyl acetate extract and was able to scavenge peroxide and DPPH free radicals. The activity was comparable to ascorbic acid.