Determination of Antioxidant Activity of Leave Extracts of Albizia chevalieri Using Free Radical Scavenging Activity Assay

Dried and powdered leaves of Albizia chevalieri were extracted using ethanol. The extract was fractionated to give methanol, chloroform and pet-ether. The four extracts obtained; ethanol, chloroform, methanol and pet-ether were evaluated for antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity assay. The results of the DPPH scavenging activity indicated a concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The DPPH scavenging activity of the ethanol, chloroform and methanol extracts were found to be promising. There is no significant difference in the antioxidant activity between the ethanol, chloroform and methanol extracts with that of standard Ascorbic acid at 10, 25, 250 and 500 μg/ml concentrations. This showed that the ethanol, chloroform and methanol leave extracts of the plant has the potency of scavenging free radicals in vitro and may provide leads in the ongoing search for natural antioxidants from Nigerian medicinal plants to be used in treating diseases related to free radical reactions.