Sustainable Forestry (2018) Volume 1 doi:10.24294/sf.v1i2.790 1 Studies on Some Medicinal Plants Obtained from A Dry Tropical Forest with Emphasis on Their Antioxidant Properties Iqbal Ansari, Deblina Maiti * Natural Resources & Environment Management, CSIR-Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research, Barwa Road, Dhanbad - 826015, Jharkhand, India. *Corresponding author’s Email: dmhellodeblina@gmail.com ABSTRACT Antioxidants are derivatives of vitamin C or beta-carotene that prevent reactions stimulated by oxygen, peroxides, or free radicals, thus and reduces the oxidative stress. They have found their way into many uses in treating several human diseases and reduces the risk of developing diseases like cancer. In view of these properties, the present study was focussed in identifying several plants possessing antioxidative properties and which were also conserved in the ex-situ park of CSIR – Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, India. Fifteen medicinal plants including herbs, shrubs and grasses are reported in this paper, and a collective insight has been presented about their antioxidant properties and the present state of their pharmacological applications. The specific chemical constituents abundant in the leaves, roots, stems, seeds and fruits of each of these plants have also been dealt with. To report a few antioxidant pharmacological preparations from Ayurvedic literature are Vimang, Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK4, MAK5), Maharishi Ayurved (MA631, MA47), MA Raja’s Cup, MA Student Rasayana and MA Ladies Rasayana. This review has been attempted to enhance the importance of the plants which are generally being neglected, so that it can used by the local people in rural areas for their cultivation and it will also pave the pathway for their subsequent future use in medicinal and research industry for drug formulation. Keywords: Free Radicals; Antioxidants; Pharmacological Value; Vitamin C; Ageing; Herbs 1. Introduction Oxidative stress is the result of free radicals generated from lipid oxidation products which harm healthy cells, contributing to aging and diseases like liver cirrhosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, and diabetes [1-4] . These free radicals if scavenged can help prevent such diseases. Antioxidants or derivatives of vitamin C are beta-carotene compounds that can scavenge these free radicals [5] . They act by delaying or inhibiting the oxidative chain reaction during oxidation of lipids [6] and deactivate the free radicals already generated, often before they attack targets cells [7] . Usually the antioxidants which are available in the market are found in the form of costly medicines. Many medicinal plants on the other hand possess natural antioxidants [8] and have been exploited from ancient times in ayurveda for human benefits [9] . These antioxidants are usually classified as flavonoids, anthocyanins, cartenoids, dietary glutathionine and vitamins [10-13] . Various studies have been reported in literature concerning research works on many plant extracts for a significant antioxidant activity [14-16] . Phytochemical analysis of rasayana from plants showed that a large numbers of compounds including tannic acid, flavonoids, tocopherol, curcumin, ascorbate, carotenoids, polyphenols, etc. have shown effective antioxidant properties [17-19] . Govind [20] stated that on the use of medicinal plants with high level of antioxidant constituents can be an effective therapeutic approach for treating hepatic damages. Shikhar et al. [21] has reviewed six plants such as Lantana camara, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Vaccinium oxycoccos, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Saraca indica and Acacia arabica for their antioxidant properties. Based on phytochemical analysis they revealed that a large number Copyright © 2018 Iqbal Ansari et al. doi: 10.24294/sf.v1i2.790 EnPress Publisher LLC.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/