Phytochemical Profiling and Antioxidant Assessment of a Herbal Formulation Containing Carica papaya, Azadirachta indica, and Allium sativum

Background and Objective: Whole plants or combinations of plants and herbal extracts are frequently used as therapeutic preparations in traditional systems that take a holistic approach to health and illness. The biologically active secondary metabolites of plants found in roots, leaves, flowers, stems, and bark are called phytochemicals, and they have several pharmaceutical uses in human systems. The present study evaluated the phytochemicals and antioxidant potentials of the herbal formulation of Carica papaya, Azadirachta indica and Allium sativa. Materials and Methods: The herbal formulation was prepared by combining the pulverized samples of Carica papaya, Azadirachta indica, and Allium sativa in the ratios (1:1:1, 2:1:1, 1:2:1, and 1:1:2 w/w), respectively, to obtain four permutations, which were extracted using ethanol. Phytochemicals and antioxidant potentials evaluations were carried out utilizing the extracts obtained. Data were analyzed using ANOVA in SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), with Duncan’s multiple range test for post-hoc comparisons; results are expressed as Mean±SD, significance was set at p<0.05, and charts were prepared using Microsoft Excel. Results: Total phenolic content shows a decreasing trend as D>C>B>A (149.5>98.25>20.78>8.47 GAE mg/100 g) across the different ratios. Also, a similar trend was noticed with the flavonoid content, D>C>B>A (271.95>178.77>37.91>15.54 QCE mg/100 g) across the different ratios. The presence of tannins and saponins did not vary greatly across the different ratios of the formulation. All the ratios showed reasonable ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), hydrogen peroxide and anti-lipid peroxidation inhibitions capacities. Conclusion: The various ratios of ethanol extract of herbal formulation containing Carica papaya, Azadirachta indica and Allium sativa exhibited pronounced antioxidant activity supported by the presence of potent free radical scavenging and biologically active compounds.