Determination of Antioxidant Activities and Bioactive Components of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (Samonsabar)

World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 80% of the population of developing countries use traditional medicines, mostly natural plant products, for their primary health care needs. In the past few decades, the medicinal value of plants has been assumed more important dimension owing largely to the discovery that extracts from plants contain not only primary metabolites but also a diverse array of secondary metabolites with antioxidant potential. Medicinal plants are potential sources of natural compounds with biological activities and therefore attract the attention of researchers worldwide. Antioxidants are vital substances which possess ability to protect the body from damage due to free radical-induced oxidative stress. The purpose of current study was to determine the antioxidant activities and bioactive components of Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) (Samonsabar) seeds by using UV Visible Spectrophotometer (UV-Vis) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Aqueous extract of fennel seeds showed more antioxidant activity (IC50: 0.28 ug/ml) than ethanolic extract (IC50: 0.83 ug/ml) and comparable to standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid (IC50: 0.59 ug/ml). GC-MS analysis was fruitful in identification of compounds based on peak area, retention time, molecular formula, molecular weight, MS Fragmentions and pharmacological actions. Ten bioactive phytochemical compounds from aqueous extracts and 11 from ethanolic extract of fennel seeds were identified. These findings indicated that fennel seeds are potential to provide preventive properties against oxidative damage. These results will give scientific information for quality control of indigenous drug to herbal medicine users and local practitioners using fennel for different types of ailments