The antioxidant potential of the ethanol extract of Vitex negundo L. was evaluated by using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide, total antioxidant capacity and erythrocyte (RBC) membrane stabilization assays. The extract showed significant activities in all antioxidant assays compared to the reference antioxidant ascorbic acid in a dose dependent manner. In DPPH and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays the IC50 values of the extract were found to be 178.43 ug/mL and 158.93 ug/mL, respectively. Total antioxidant activity was also increased in a dose dependent manner. The ethanol extract of V. negundo also significantly protect the lyses of red blood corpuscles by stabilizing the membrane in hypotonic medium. These results suggest that V. negundo may act as a chemopreventative agent, providing antioxidant properties and offering effective protection from free radicals.
Keywords: Vitex negundo, Verbenaceae, Antioxidant, Lipid peroxidation, DPPH, Total antioxidant capacity, Reactive oxygen species.