IN-VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF LUFFA CYLINDRICA SEED OIL

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the invitro antioxidant activity of fixed oil isolated from seed kernels of Luffa cylindrica (Linn) M.Roem (Cucurbitaceae).1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical, nitric oxide radical, hydroxyl and peroxide radical scavenging assays were carried out to evaluate the antioxidant potential of the fixed oil. The free radical scavenging activity of the different concentrations of the seed oil (1, 2, 4, 8 and 10% (v/v) in DMSO) of L.cylindrica increased in a concentration dependent manner. In DPPH method, the oil in 10% (v/v) concentration shows 90.91±4.12%. In nitric oxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, the activities were found to be almost similar. The oil in the concentration of 10% (v/v) inhibited the peroxide generated from chick liver homogenate by 58.89±2.51%. From this study, it may be concluded that oil obtained from L.cylindrica have significant antioxidant activity. The antioxidant potential may be attributed due to the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These results are encouraging enough to pursue characterization of these fractions. Key words: Luffa cylindrica, DPPH, Nitric oxide, Hydroxyl and peroxide radicals.