Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 2012 September (Suppl), Vol-6(7): 1254-1257 1254 1254 ID: JCDR/2012/4489:2431 Studies on the in Vitro Anti-Oxidant Properties of a Polyherbal Formulation: Rumalaya Forte Key Words: Nitric oxide, Poly herbal formulation, Free radical scavenging, Spectrophotometer, Ayurveda, Inlammation ABSTRACT The Polyherbal Formulation (PHF), Rumalaya Forte that has a combination of medicinal herbs such as the powders of Bo- swellia serrata, Commiphora wightii, Alpinia galanga and Glycyr- rhiza glabra and the extracts of Tribulus terrestris and Tinospora cordifolia, was tested for its antioxidant and free radical scav- enging activity in vitro. This PHF has been traditionally used by the ayurvedic practioners in India, for the treatment of various in- lammatory disorders. The in vitro scavenging of the NO radical activity, Lipid Peroxidation (LPO) inhibition and the 1-Diphenyl- 2-Picrylhydrazil (DPPH) inhibition of PHF were tested by using a spectrophotometer at absorbance levels of 546nm, 532 and 517nm respectively. The experiments were performed in tripli- cates with different concentrations of PHF (1.95-500 g/ml).The percentage inhibition IC50 values were 203.57%, 315.92% and 10.37% g/ml for LPO, DPPH and NO respectively. The poly- herbal formulation, Rumalaya Forte demonstrated a signiicant NO free radical scavenging activity. K.R. SUBASH, G. SOMASUNDARAM, N. JAGAN RAO, G.MUTHULAKSHMI BHAARATI, BINOY VARGHESE CHERIYAN, K.SANDEEP KUMAR INTRODUCTION Today, herbal medicines are manufactured similarly as the differ- ent dosage forms of the modern system. Though the plants have been proven for their eficacy since centuries, the documentation of the evidences are not available for every practice. Hence, herb- al medicines need to be revalidated at present for the evidence based medicine practice. In the advent of the internationally accepted protocol for the evaluation of a drug and with due consideration to the estab- lished understanding of the plants, as is available in the literature of ayurveda, a better utilization may be achieved. Oxidative stress results from an imbalance between the generation of the oxygen derived radicals and the organism’s endogenous antioxidant potential to counteract. Such an imbalance plays an important role in many chronic diseases [1]. There is an increasing evidence which has shown the involvements of free radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in a variety of diseases, that can cause damage to the cellular biomolecules such as nucleic ac- ids, protein, lipids and carbohydrates and this consequently may adversely affect the immune functions [2]. The eficacy of a plant extract as an antioxidant is best evaluated, based on the results which are obtained by commonly accepted assays, taking into account the different oxidative conditions, system compositions and the antioxidant mechanism [3]. It is believed that medicinal plants are a potential source of antioxidants and ROS scavenger molecules [2]. The natural antioxidants tend to be safer and they possess anti-viral, anti-tumour and hepatoprotective properties [4]. The free radicals and ROS are well-known inducers of cellular and tissue pathogenesis which leads to several chronic human ailments such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, as well as the ageing processes. Many anti-inlammatory, digestive, neuropro- Original Article Pharmacology Section tective, hepatoprotective and anti-ulcer herbal drugs have been recently evaluated and they have been shown to possess anti oxidant and/or free radical scavenging mechanisms as a part of their activity [5]. Hence, this Polyherbal Formulation (PHF), Rumalaya Forte (RF) which contains medicinal herbs such as the powders of Boswell- ia serrata, Commiphora wightii, Alpinia galangal and Glycyrrhiza glabra and the extracts of Tribulus terrestris and Tinospora cordi- folia, which is being currently widely used by ayurvedic praction- ers for the treatment of inlammatory conditions, was screened for its anti-oxidant activity by checking for DPPH, LPO and NO radical inhibition by doing in vitro assays. Though the individual herbs which had been studies previously had shown anti-inlam- matory activities, this study was done to explore the antioxidant potential of the PHF –RF by in vitro studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material PHF contains medicinal herbs such as the powders of Boswellia serrata 240mg, Commiphora wightii 200mg, Alpinia galanga 70mg and Glycyrrhiza glabra 70mg and the extracts of Tribulus terrestris and Tinospora cordifolia. Use in traditional medicine Boswellia serrata- anti-inlammatory, antiarrthritic, expectorant [6]. Commiphora wightii – It has astringent, antiseptic and antisuppura- tive properties and it is used in the treatment of haemorrhoids [7]. Alpinia galanga - Anti-inlammatory agent which is used for rheu- matism and rheumatoid arthritis [8]. Glycyrrhiza glabra - Antitioxidant, immunostimulant and mild anti-