Abstract:
Cumulative lifetime dose of ultra violet (UV) radiation has increased significantly due to many
natural and artificial consequences. UV-A and UV-B radiation are considered as the major risk
factors for photo dermal pathogenesis. Many herbal extracts and herbal preparations have served as
effective sunscreen agents as they have UV absorption, scattering, reflecting and excellent free radical
scavenging activity. Clitoria ternatea (Katarolu) is a plant known for its versatility in therapeutic
and cosmeceutical applications over thousands of years due its remarkable bioactivity and rich
phytochemical composition. Therefore, the study is concentrated on determining photo protective
property and antioxidant profiles of acidified aqueous alcoholic floral extracts of C. ternatea. In vitro photo protective property of crude extract was evaluated using 0.2 mg/mL methanolic solution
and expressed in terms of spectrophotometric SPF according to Mansur equation. Stability of
photo protective property was evaluated for 21 days. Antioxidant activity of the floral extract was
evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging activity, nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging and ferricyanide
reducing assays. Alcoholic extract of C. ternatea petal (0.2 mg/mL) exhibited excellent photo
protective activity and SPF value was 20.4916±0.653 and shown promising photo stability in terms of
spectrophotometric SPF value. Antioxidant capacity of the crude floral extract was 1418.27±125.89
mg ascorbic acid equivalents/100g DW mg ascorbic acid equivalents/ 100g DW of the with reference
to the standard curve (y = 0.7328x - 0.1471, R² = 0.9979). % NO radical scavenging capacity of floral
extract (1mg/mL) was 40.379±5.478. Reducing power of the floral extract was 2345.412±215.258
mg and 3345.91±456.34 mg ascorbic acid equivalents/ 100g DW, respectively with reference to the
standard curve (y = 0.0042x + 0.0971, R² = 0.9988). Hence, C.ternatea can be successfully served as a
natural sunscreen agent in herbal and natural cosmeceuticals.
