Free Radical Scavenging Activity and Total Antioxidant Capacity of Tin Chlorophyllin from Morinda citrifolia L

Medicinal plants are the rich source of harmless medicines, and used for the treatment of various diseases for thousands of years. They can provide biologically active molecules and lead structures for development of modified derivatives with enhanced activity or reduced activity. Green plants synthesize and preserve a variety of biochemical products, many of which are extractable and used as chemical feed stocks or as raw material for several scientific investigations. Tin chlorophyllin, a water soluble sodium salt of Chlorophyll is one among the family of phytochemical compounds. The central metal atom, magnesium of chlorophyll has been replaced with tin and the phytol chains lost in chlorophyllin. The antioxidant activity of tin chlorophyllin from the leaves of Morinda citrifolia L. was investigated by using in vitro antioxidant models such as DPPH scavenging assay and Phosphomolybdenum method. The free radical scavenging activity of tin chlorophyllin on the stable radical 1, 1- diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was evaluated and the percentage of inhibition was determined. By phosphomolybdenum method, the total antioxidant capacity of tin chlorophyllin was determined and the absorbance values were expressed as the number of gram equivalent of ascorbic acid. The results demonstrate the potential antioxidant activity of tin chlorophyllin and support its possible role in human health protection and disease prevention.