ABSTRACT:
Phytochemicals are chemical substances in plants, that have medicinal value and produce a defined physiological action which maybe protective or disease preventive. Phytochemicals are rich in fruits, vegetables and in some plant leaf tissues, seed tissues, bud tissues, root tissues or in stem tissues. The functions of phytochemicals are raised. They have antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic effect, hormonal action, enzyme stimulation, anti-microbial effect and anti-adhesion property. The aim of the present study is to estimate the amount of phytochemicals in the leaves of rosemary and to evaluate the antioxidant capacity in both the Aqueous Extract of Rosemary officinalis (AERO) and in Methanol Extract of Rosemary officinalis (MERO). From the results it was observed that the amount of total phenol in MERO is greater than that of AERO. The flavonoid content of MERO was also significantly (P<0.001) greater than that of AERO (<0.001).Besides MERO had shown significant oxidant scavenging capacity than AERO. Hence, it can be concluded that the Rosemary officinalis can be used as an antioxidant for the treatment of various diseases that includes free radical generation in their pathogenesis. Apart from this, rosemary extracts can also be used as an effective antioxidant in commercial food preservation also.