Prashan Kumar Chhetri

Publications (2) View all

• Article: Changes in antioxidant activity of Cyphomandra betacea (Cav.) Sendtn. fruits during maturation and senescence

  Mitali Ghosal, Prashan Kumar Chhetri, Manas Kanti Ghosh, Palash Mandal
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  ABSTRACT: Antioxidants are extremely important substances which possess the ability to protect the body from damage caused by free radical induced oxidative stress. Antioxidants are derived from dietary sources like fruits, vegetables and beverages. In this study the antioxidant activity of different maturity stages of two varieties of Cyphomandra betacea fruits of Darjeeling were evaluated in vitro. The radical scavenging properties on 2,2 Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical, lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide and reducing power as well as the flavonoids, phenolics, lycopene and total carotene contents of methanolic extracts of the fruits were determined. All fruit extracts, mainly the mature red fruit of Purple-red variety exhibited strong scavenging activity towards all radicals tested due to the presence of relatively high total phenol, flavonoids, lycopene as well as total carotene contents. Our findings suggest that purple red variety of C. betacea fruit is endowed with antioxidant phytochemicals which could provide protection against oxidative stress induced diseases.
  International Journal of Food Properties 01/2011; · 0.67 Impact Factor
• Article: In-Vitro free radical scavenging activities of the leaves of Malva verticillata L.

  Prashan Kumar Chhetri, Palash Mandal
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  ABSTRACT: Antioxidants act as major defense against radical-mediated toxicity by protecting against the damages caused by free-radicals. Research on herbal products are increasingly focused on their effects on scavenging of different newly generated free-radical species and associated oxidative stress mediated complications on human health, but there are unexpectedly few studies evaluating the bioactivity of edible leafy vegetables of North Bengal, India. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the in vitro antioxidant potential of methanol extract and aqueous decoction of Malva verticillata L. [MV] leaves, consumed by local people of North Bengal. Extracts of leaves were analyzed for in vitro free radical scavenging capacity, the total phenol and flavonoid content and preliminary phytochemical analysis. The antioxidant property was estimated using reducing power, superoxide radical scavenging activity and DPPH· assays. Methanol extract of leaves were found to be effective in DPPH· and superoxide radical scavenging activity when compared with aqueous decoction of MV. Overall strong correlation between the mean values of total phenol content and IC50 values of DPPH and superoxide free radical scavenging capacity was observed. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) indicated that phenolic functional groups and reducing potential of methanol and aqueous extracts were mostly contributed for their antioxidant capacity. The present study revealed that methanol extract of the leaves of MV comprise effective source of natural antioxidants, which might be helpful in preventing the progress of various oxidative stress induced diseases.
  NBU Journal of Plant Sciences. 01/2011;