Introduction: Accumulation of reactive species higher than permissible limits in biological systems may lead to various degenerative disorders due to oxidative damage. Materials and Methods: Oxidation is a serious concern faced by the food industry causing deterioration of shelved-food quality. Antioxidant compounds like polyphenolics scavenge such free radicals and thus protect against oxidative stress. Consumption of polyphenol-rich plants as dietary component confers protection against such cellular damage. Present study explores antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC)of different extracts prepared from various parts of Moringa oleifera Lam. Results: Higher TPC, TFC and antioxidant activity was shown by methanolic extracts followed by aqueous, petroleum benzene and chloroform extracts.The present study suggests that all the extracts might act as radical scavengers to certain extent possibly due to presence of polyphenolic compounds. Conclusion: M. oleifera exhibits strong antioxidant activity and could serve as prospective source of natural antioxidants to food and health industries.

Phenolic compounds are important bioactive components in plant kingdoms with ubiquitous distribution amid immense structural diversity. They are indispensable in developmental and physiological stages of a plant besides having specific response in protection, adaptability, environmental and climatic resilience. In the present study, total phenolic content (TPC) was evaluated in 9 different rice ecotypes (PB- 1, PB-1121, PB-1509, Pusa-RH-10, CSR-30, PR-126, HKR-47, Govind and Sharbati) belonging to basmati and non-basmati rice varieties. TPC distribution was measured in both shoot and root system at 14 days old seedling stage. In shoot, the average TPC distribution was 254.38 μg of GAE/gm FW, ranged from 170.33 μg to 357.62 μg of GAE/gm FW. For root, the TPC ranged from 64.58 μg to 105.27 μg of GAE/gm Fw with an average of 84.82 μg of GAE/gm FW. Hence, increased TPC was observed in shoots compared to roots, also there was a positive correlation in TPC distribution between shoot and root. Furthermore, the TPC distribution was more profound in shoot and root of basmati varieties compared to non-basmati varieties. Therefore, differential TPC distribution represents significant physiological feature during the developmental process for optimum growth and metabolism within the rice varieties according to their ecological behavior.