PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ACID-NEUTRALIZING ACTIVITIES OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF VITEX NEGUNDO FLOWERS

Background: Vitex negundo is a medicinal plant traditionally used in several therapeutic applications. The present study evaluated the phytochemical profile and selected in vitro pharmacological properties of an ethanolic extract of its flowers (VNFET). Methods: Vitex negundo flowers were extracted with ethanol by heating 10 g of material with 100 mL ethanol for 5 h under a reflux condenser in a water bath, followed by filtration and vacuum evaporation. Preliminary phytochemical screening, total flavonoid and total phenolic estimation, DPPH radical-scavenging assay, FRAP assay, egg-albumin denaturation assay and acid-neutralizing capacity were evaluated. Qualitative screening demonstrated alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, proteins and carbohydrates, while saponins were absent. The reported maximum total flavonoid content was 75 mg at a concentration of 300, and the maximum total phenol content was 120 mg at a concentration of 200. In the DPPH assay, VNFET showed 85% inhibition at 10 mg with an IC50 of 7.48 mg, compared with 3.373 mg for ascorbic acid. FRAP absorbance reached 1.73 at 15 mg. In the albumin-denaturation assay, VNFET produced 63% inhibition at 5 mg with an IC50 of 10.59 mg; diclofenac sodium showed an IC50 of 12.129 mg. Acid-neutralizing capacity was 19.49 mEq for VNFET compared with 7.92 mEq for sodium carbonate. Under the conditions reported in this study, VNFET demonstrated measurable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and acid-neutralizing activities together with detectable flavonoid and phenolic constituents.