Abstract :
Withania somnifera, an herbal medicine is commonly used for rheumatoid arthritis in India. In the present study,
total phenolic content and flavonoid content of Withania somnifera extracts of two commercially available herbal
medicines were investigated by varying the composition of solvent. Water and various concentrations (10%, 50%, 90%,
and 100%) of methanol in water were used as solvent in the extraction of Withania somnifera samples. The total phenolic
content and flavonoid content of Withania somnifera extracts were investigated using UV-Visible spectrophotometer.
The results show that both phenolic and flavonoid contents are highly dependent on composition of extracting
solvent.The extract obtained by 50% methanol showed the highest total phenolic content in the samples ranges from
(0.74-1.2 mg gallic acid equivalent/g) and the highest flavonoid content obtained from 100% methanol ranges from (2-
2.2mg rutin equivalent/g).These results indicate that Withania somnifera is rich source for phenols with a potential to
reduce oxidative stress.
Keyword :
Withania somnifera, Phenols, Flavonoids, rutin, gallic acid.