Abstract
The present work reported the anti-oxidant potential of various extracts of the plant Habenaria plantaginea (Hp) of the Orchidaceae family. To ascertain the anti-oxidant potential of the Hp extracts various pharmacological assays were conducted. The antioxidant potential of different fractions of Hp plant was evaluated through DPPH, ABTS and H2O2 anti-oxidant assays. In DPPH assay Hp.Chf fraction exhibited highest antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 2.9 µg/ml followed by Hp.EtAc with IC50 4.0 µg/ml. In H2O2 inhibitory assay Hp.Chf exhibited highest activity (IC50 :14 µg/ml), subsequently followed by Hp.EtAc (IC50 : 17 µg/ml) , Crude (IC50 :18 µg/ml using the standard Ascorbic acid (IC50 :10 µg/ml).In behavioral assessment test, Open field arena test, Highest exploratory, grooming and rearing behavior was seen for Hp.Chf fraction followed by Hp.EtAc and Hp.Crude respectively when compared to the standard diazepam. Similarly, in shallow water paddling test, lowest latency time was exhibited by Hp.Chf fraction followed by Hp.EtAc and Hp.Crude fractions respectively against the standard drug galatamine, which indicated enhanced memory in the animals treated with the above mentioned fractions, in the dose dependent manner. From the results of the study it can be concluded that the aforementioned plant has great potential to treat Alzheimer’s disease through multiple mechanisms. Hence, further studies are recommended on this potentially valuable plant to develop safe and effective therapeutic treatment for AD.