Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic Content of Triphala churna

Triphala churna is a widely used herbal formulation that contains equal proportion of dried fruit powder of Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia belirica. In the Indian system of medicine, it is used in cleaning wounds, urinary disorders, diabetes mellitus, leprosy, constipation, eyesight promotion, piles, and as a rejuvenator. In the present study, the methanolic extract of 5 commercial Triphala was evaluated for antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl free radical scavenging method, total phenolic content by Folin-Ciocalteu method and gallic acid equivalents (GAE) by high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method. All extracts exhibited antioxidant activity significantly. The $IC_{50}$ of the extracts ranged between $7.16\;to\;12.96\;{\mu}g/ml$. The total phenolic content of the extracts was found to be 195.3-296.4 mg of GAE/gm of GAE/gm dw. The HPTLC chromatographic data reveal that the content of GAE present in the extract was found to be $7.17-4.11\;{\mu}g/ml$. The study reveals that out of the churnas analysed, C was found to exhibit the most potent antioxidant activity. A clear correlation between $IC_{50}$ and content of GAE nor the total phenolic content could be observed. The study reveals that the consumption of Triphala would exert several beneficial effects by virtue of its antioxidant activity.