Abstract: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health

Abstract:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activities of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Cucumis sativus. Shade-dried C. sativus fruits were extracted using distilled water or absolute ethanol and then subjected to in vitro antioxidant analyses using standard methods. The results showed that the 1, 1–diphenyl–2–picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, nitric oxide (NO) scavenging capacity and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) of the ethanol extract were significantly higher than those of aqueous extract (p < 0.05). However, reducing power, ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the aqueous extract were significantly higher than those of ethanol extract (p < 0.05). These results indicate that extracts of the medicinal plant are effective in scavenging free radicals caused by oxidative stress, and the potency depends on the solvent used for extraction.