1. Introduction
The traditional medicine all over the world is nowaday
revealed by an extensive activity of researches on different
plant species and their therapeutic principles. Plants
contain phytochemicals with various bioactivities including
antioxidant, anti inflammatory and anticancer activities.
Currently, about 25% of the active component was identified
from plants that are used as prescribed medicines[1].
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) exert oxidative damaging
effects by reacting with nearly every molecules found in
living cells including protein, lipid, amino acids and DNA,
if excess ROS are not eliminated by antioxidant system.
They play important roles in aging and in the pathogenesis
of age related disorders such as cancer, hypertension,
atherogenesis, Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease.
The most practical way to fight degenerative diseases
is to increase antioxidant activity in our body and that
could be achieved by consumption of vegetables, fruits or
edible plants[2]. There is an increasing interest in natural
antioxidants e.g. polyphenols, present in medicinal and
dietary plants, which might help prevent oxidative damage.
Natural antioxidants increase the antioxidant capacity of
the plasma and reduce the risk of diseases[3]. Different parts
such as seeds, leaves and bark of stem and root known to
contain substantial amounts of phytoconstituents such as
phenolics, flavonoids, tannins having the ability to inhibit
the free radicals that are excessively produced, hence can
act as antioxidants[4]. The continued search among plant
secondary metabolites for natural antioxidants has gained
importance in recent years because of the increasing
awareness of herbal remedies as potential sources of