Abstract:
Presently, there has been an amplified interest worldwide to identify antioxidant compounds which are pharmacologically effective and have low or no side effects for use in preventive medicine and the food industry. Plants produce significant amount of antioxidants such as flavonoids, phenolics and polyphenolics (condensed and hydrolysable tannins) to prevent the oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species. Ayurveda, Unani Chinese and other traditional medical systems, provide substantial lead to find active and therapeutically useful antioxidant compounds from plants. Considering the growing interest in assessing the antioxidant capacity of natural products the phytochemistry of plants having antioxidant activity has been reported.
Sushil Chandra Sati, Nitin Sati, U. Rawat and O.P. Sati, 2010. Medicinal Plants as a Source of Antioxidants. Research Journal of Phytochemistry, 4: 213-224.