Abstract
Solanum indicum Linn. (Solanaceae) is grown in waste places, road sides and in open scrublands in different parts of India and other Asian countries. Its roots and leaves are used in traditional system of medicine for a long time. Several phytochemicals like fatty acids, alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids and saponins have been reported from the different parts of the plant but their biological efficacies were not evaluated. Hence, the berries of the plants were collected, authenticated and extracted with MeOH for screening antioxidant and also anthelmintic activity. In vitro DPPH radical scavenging activity using BHT as a standard and anthelmintic activity on Indian earth-worm (Pheretima posthuma) using Albendazole as a standard of crude MeOH extract of Solanum indicum berries were evaluated. Nine different concentrations (200, 100, 80, 60, 40, 20, 10, 1, 0.5 µg/ml) of MeOH extract were studied for DPPH scavenging activity. The maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity with inhibition was found at the concentration 200 µg/ml and it was 70.007 ± 0.841% as comparable to that of BHT having 95.023 ± 0.091% inhibition at the same concentration. Three concentrations (25, 50, 100 mg/ml) of extract were studied for anthelmintic activity which involved the determination of time of paralysis and time of death of the worms. All the concentration of extracts exhibited significant dose dependent activity.
