Abstract

Tylophora subramanii, a climbing herb belongs to Asclepiadaceae and endemic along the southern Western Ghats. The local people use this plant for curing many rheumatic ailments.  The objective of this study is to explore the phytochemistry and the antioxidant potential of ethanolic leaf extract of Tylophora subramanii which is considered traditionally as an important medicinal plant. The methods adapted includes (a) phytochemical analysis to  find out the presence of various bioactive compounds (b) in vitro antioxidant analysis of ethanolic leaf extract  by 1,1diphenyl, 2 picryl hydrazyl assay, nitric oxide scavenging assay, superoxide scavenging potential, ex vivo superoxide dismutase assay, catalase assay. The major outcomes are the following: ethanolic leaf extract showed remarkable levels of the phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, proteins and carbohydrates. Similarly, it also showed potential antioxidant activities. High catalase and superoxide dismutase activity with low lipid peroxide level, which were comparable with the synthetic antioxidant L-ascorbic acid. Thus the work concludes that T. subramanii display a wide range of pharmacologically useful phytochemicals which exhibited significant antioxidant potentials. Future works are planned to elucidate the lead molecule and its biological potentialities.