Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
(eISSN: 2229-4473)
Multi-assay assessment of antioxidant capacity in species of the Papilionaceae subfamily
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Research Articles | Published: 23 May, 2026
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Keywords: ABTS, Antioxidants, DPPH, Flower extract, FRAP, TAC
Abstract
Antioxidants enable plant and animal cells to mitigate oxidative stress caused due to reactive oxygen species and prevent further cellular damages. Hence, antioxidants have found wide applications in food, pharma, and cosmeceuticals. Screening for appropriate plant species with highest antioxidant potential has become the most important step in plant-based research. However, selecting appropriate in-vitro antioxidant assays out of the multitude of methods available could be a challenge. Hence, the current study aimed at comparing the effectiveness and correlation between four commonly used antioxidant assays viz. DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and TAC in analyzing the antioxidant capacity of hydro-methanolic floral extracts from four selected genera of Papilionaceae subfamily viz. Butea monosperma, Clitoria ternatea, Gliricidia maculata and Mucuna pruriens. The relationship between antioxidant assays and the total phenolic content of the selected species was investigated statistically. Each assay ordered the species differently based on their antioxidant potential however, a significantly strong correlation was observed between TPC, FRAP and ABTS assays whereas DPPH reported a negative correlation with all the assays. These results indicate at similar class of compounds utilized by the assays which could be different from that of DPPH assay. The percent Coefficient of Variance < 10 for all assays indicated the reliability and precision of the assays with ABTS reporting lowest %CV and TPC reporting highest %CV. M. pruriens flower extract demonstrated highest antioxidant activity whereas C. ternatea flower extract reported lowest activity based on two of the four assays. Cluster analysis was also performed to link the plant species based on their antioxidant potentials. The current study highlights the fact that each assay measures antioxidant ability of extracts independently of each other thereby highlighting the complementary nature of these assays in profiling phenol rich plant species.
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Author Information
Department of Botany, Jai Hind College, (Empowered) Autonomous, Mumbai, India