Plant Archives Volume 20 No. 2, 2020 pp. 5516-5520 e-ISSN:2581-6063 (online), ISSN:0972-5210 IN VITRO ANTI-OXIDANT POTENTIAL OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF THE PLANT UTRICULARIA RETICULATA Jennifer Fernandes, Hannah Abdul Fathah, Ronald Fernandes* and Deepthi D. Kodical Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, NGSM Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, A constituent college of Nitte (Deemed to be University), Paneer, Deralakatte, Mangalore (Karnataka)6480, India. Abstract Utricularia reticulata (Family: Lentibulariaceae) commonly known as kaakka poovu in Malayalam and kaage kannu in kannada, is a sub-scandent glabrous herb commonly found on wet rocky areas or in the paddy fields during the month of September to November. The present work was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extract of the whole plant of Utricularia reticulata by using Invitro methods such as DPPH assay, Superoxide scavenging assay, Nitric oxide scavenging assay, Hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay, and Total antioxidant activity. The preliminary phytochemical studies indicated the presence of steroids and flavonoids. The ethanolic extract of the plant gave positive results for anti- oxidant activity. The extracts were evaluated from the concentration range of 20µg/ml – 100µg/ml. The extract showed the concentration dependent activity. At the dose of 100µg/ml it showed maximum activity. Key word: Utricularia reticulata, in vitro antioxidant studies, in vitro anti-inflammatory studies. Introduction Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the molecules containing unpaired electrons in their atomic orbital, mainly produced by the normal metabolic process of the body (Lobo V. 2010). The superoxide anion is formed as the side product of various stages in electron transport chain (Aruoma O.I. 1998). There are different types of reactive oxygen species like hydrogen peroxide, (H 2 O 2 ), hypochlorous acid (HClO) and free radicals such as the hydroxyl radical (.OH) and the superoxide anion (O 2 - ). Among them hydroxyl radical (.OH) is highly reactive (Devasagayam T P A 2004). These radicals may react with some of the important biomolecules like carbohydrates, DNA, lipids and proteins which may lead to cell damage and homeostatic disruption. DNA damage may cause mutations and in some cases cancer, if the reaction is not reversed by DNA repair mechanism. On the other hand on reacting with proteins causes denaturation and protein degradation (Lamson, D.W. 1999). Antioxidants are the form which is the defensive mechanism of our body against the free radicals. There are a huge variety of naturally occurring antioxidants in nature which are having different compositions, different physical and chemical properties, different mechanism and site of action. Few of them are enzymes (SOD, etc.), high molecular weight compounds (proteins like albumin), low molecular weight compounds (tocopherol, ascorbic acid, etc.), minerals and vitamins. The equilibrium between the generated free radical as well as the antioxidants are always maintained in the body. If any disturbances occur in this equilibrium, it leads to oxidative stress. This leads to a number of pathological diseases such as aging, cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorder (Geronikaki A.A. 2006). Utricularia reticulata (Family: Lentibulariaceae) commonly known as kaakka poovu in Malayalam and kaage kannu in Kannada, is a sub-scandent glabrous herb commonly found on wet rocky areas or in the paddy fields during the month of September to November. The herbs have been used traditionally in the treatment of urinary tract infections, as astringent, diuretic, and are also known to be used as poultice on wounds (Gossell-Williams 2006). The present study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the plant using In vitro methods like DPPH assay, Nitric oxide assay, Hydrogen peroxide assay, Superoxide assay and Total anti-oxidant activity. *Author for correspondence : E-mail : ronaldfernandes@nitte.edu.in