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Free radicals are mostly responsible for the growth and spread of various diseases
including cardiovascular disease (Halliwell and Gutteridge, 1984). Various phenolic compounds,
which are widely distributed in food and medicinal plants, are versatile antioxidants against
reactive oxygen species that cause cell damage and are responsible for many diseases (Pietta, 2000).Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant. Free radicals are responsible for
ignition, propagation and termination of lipid peroxidation. Vitamin E can stop the chain reaction
by donating hydrogen to peroxyl radical, resulting in the weak free radical of
a-tocopherol that may be converted back to
a-tocopherol in redox cycle reactions involving vitamin
C (Sharma and Buetner, 1993).
Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) (NN), belonging to the family
Nelumbonaceae is an aquatic herb, with stout, creeping rhizome. Ethanolic extract from seeds exhibits antioxidative
and hepatoprotective effects (Sohn et al., 2003). Ethanolic extract of rhizome displays blood
sugar level (Pulok et al., 1997). Ethanolic extract of rhizome exhibits various
psycho-pharmacological effects reduction in spontaneous activity, decrease in exploratory behavioral pattern
reflected by the head dip and Y-maze test, lowering in muscle relaxant activity altered by rotarod,
30° inclined screen and traction test and potentiate the pentobarbitone induced sleeping time
in mice (Pulok et al., 1996). |
