Research Article
Total Phenolic, Flavonoid Contents, and Antioxidant Activities of
Fruit, Seed, and Bark Extracts of Zanthoxylum armatum DC
Nirmala Phuyal ,
1,2
Pramod Kumar Jha,
1
Pankaj Prasad Raturi,
3
and Sangeeta Rajbhandary
1
1
Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
2
Forest Research and Training Centre, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal
3
Ashok Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Center, Dabur Nepal Pvt. Ltd., Janagal, Kavre, Kathmandu, Nepal
Correspondence should be addressed to Nirmala Phuyal; nirmalaphuyal@gmail.com
Received 12 January 2020; Revised 31 January 2020; Accepted 17 February 2020; Published 16 March 2020
Academic Editor: Maria C. Yebra-Biurrun
Copyright©2020NirmalaPhuyaletal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Natural antioxidants present in several medicinal plants are responsible for inhibiting the harmful effects of oxidative stress. ese
plants contain polyphenols and flavonoids that act as free radical scavengers and reduce oxidative stress and may be an alternative
remedytocurevariousharmfulhumandiseases.isstudyaimstoquantifythetotalphenolicandflavonoidcontents(TPCandTFC)
andantioxidantpropertiesofmethanolextractsoffruits,seeds,andbarkofanimportantmedicinalandaromaticplant, Zanthoxylum
armatum collectedfromwildandcultivatedpopulationsinNepal.TPCwasdeterminedbyFolin–Ciocalteucolorimetricmethodusing
gallicacidasstandard,andvariousconcentrationsoftheextractsolutionsweremeasuredat760nm.TFCwascalculatedbyaluminum
chloridecolorimetricassay.Quercetinwasusedasstandard,andtheabsorbancewasmeasuredat510nm.eantioxidantpotentialof
thedifferentextractswasestimatedbyDPPHfreeradicalscavengingassay,andtheabsorbancewasmeasuredat517nm.ehighest
TPC value was 226.3 ± 1.14mg GAE/g in wild fruits, and the lowest was 137.72 ± 4.21mg GAE/g in cultivated seeds. Similarly, the
highest TFC value was 135.17 ± 2.02mg QE/g in cultivated fruits, and the lowest was 76.58 ± 4.18mg QE/g in cultivated seeds. e
extracts showed variable antioxidant properties. e fruits exhibited excellent antioxidant properties with IC
50
values of 40.62 μg/mL
and 45.62 μg/mLforcultivatedandwildfruits,respectively.Similarly,theIC
50
valuesofthebarkwere63.39 μg/mLand67.82 μg/mL,
respectively, for cultivated and wild samples. And the least antioxidant capacity was shown by the seeds extract with IC
50
values of
86.75 μg/mLand94.49 μg/mLforwildandcultivatedseeds,respectively.eIC
50
valueofthestandardascorbicacidwas36.22 μg/mL.
Differentextractsof Z. armatum containconsiderableamountofphenolsandflavonoids,includingantioxidantproperties,suggesting
the potential use of this species in pharmacy and phytotherapy as a source of natural antioxidants.
1. Introduction
Medicinal plants have been used in several indigenous
herbalpracticessinceveryoldtimestocureseveraldiseases.
Herbal medication still continues to serve as an important
health care system even today despite the greater ad-
vancements in modern medication systems in the recent
years. eir long uses in the folk medicine and their safer
implications in human health have generated much interest
inthem,especiallyindevelopingcountries.Ithasnowbeen
established that medicines derived from plant products are
safer than their synthetic counterparts [1].
Plant and plant-based products are the natural sources of
different phytochemicals such as phenols, flavonoids, alka-
loids, glycosides, lignins, and tannins. Phenols and flavonoids
are the most common phytoconstituents of different fruits,
vegetables, and medicinal and aromatic plants, which are
responsible for antioxidant activities [2]. Due to the potential
toxicological effects of synthetic antioxidants [3], natural
antioxidants such as phenols and flavonoid compounds from
plant origin are gaining popularity these days [4]. An anti-
oxidant is a substance that inhibit or delays oxidative damage
to the cells of the organisms by scavenging the free radicals
suchasperoxideorhydroperoxideandthusreducingtherisk
Hindawi
e Scientific World Journal
Volume 2020, Article ID 8780704, 7 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8780704