ABSTRACT
Cellular oxidation results in production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in animal and human biological systems which are responsible for oxidative damage in cell constituents thus producing various degenerative diseases and aging. Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons and in their quest to find another electron they are very reactive and cause damage to surrounding molecules. Different antioxidant compounds may act through different distinct mechanism against different oxidizing agents and hence any one method cannot correctly evaluate the antioxidant efficacy of plant extracts. Phenolic compounds which are secondary metabolites in plants are one of the most widely occurring group of phytochemicals that exhibit antiallergenic, antimicrobial, antiatherogenic, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory and cardio protective effects. The antioxidant capacity of different plants is different chiefly because they contain different phytoconstituents in different concentration. They also vary in different parts of the same plant.
