In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of S-Carvone Isolated from Zanthoxylum alatum

Zanthoxylum alatum Roxb. is a medicinal plant which abundantly grows in the hilly areas of Pakistan. The dried fruit of the plant is used as condiment and has excellent spice value. S-carvone was isolated from Zanthoxylum alatum, purified using chromatographic methods, and studied by GC-MC, FT-IR, and NMR techniques. The in vitro antioxidant activity of carvone was evaluated by different in vitro systems, including lipid peroxidation, 2,2-dipenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and phosphomolybdenum assay. The isolated carvone showed inhibition activity against thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) induced by different pro-oxidants (10 M FeSO4 and 5 mu M sodium nitroprusside) in rat liver and brain homogenates. The extract also caused the scavenging of DPPH radical and the reduction of molybdenum, Mo(VI) to Mo(V). The results indicated that S-carvone possesses high antioxidant activity.