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Antioxidants are those substances that protect the body cells and tissues from the damages caused by
free radical and reactive oxygen species which are normally generated during oxygen metabolism.
Natural antioxidants either in the form of raw extracts or their chemical constituents are very
effective to prevent the destructive processes caused by oxidative stress. The aim of the present study
is to determine the antioxidant activity and to estimate the total phenol and flavonoid content of
Smilax ovalifolia leave extracts. Methanolic and ethanolic leave extract of Smilax ovalifolia were
evaluated for the antioxidant property by using scavenging activity of DPPH radical method. Phenol
content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method with slight modifications and the
flavonoid content was determined by spectrophotometric method. In DPPH radical scavenging
assay the IC50 value of methanolic extract and ethanolic extract were found to be 26.12 and
17.43μg/ml respectively. The same for the standard i.e. ascorbic acid was 02.98 μg/ml. The total
phenol and flavanoid content in the methanolic extract was found to be 8.34±0.022 mg of GAE/g of
extract and 5.16±0.033 mg of quercetin /g of extract respectively and in the ethanolic extract it was
found to be 10.87±0.043 mg of GAE/g of extract and 7.65±0.011 mg of quercetin/g of extract
respectively This study thus indicates that Smilax ovalifolia is a potential source of natural
antioxidant
Key words: Antioxidant, DPPH, Total Phenol, Total Flavonoid, Smilax ovalifolia.