Antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of blue green algae Anabaena sp. (Nostocaceae)

Blue green algae, Anabaena sp. (Nostocaceae), collected from rice field of Anandapuram, Visakhapatnam, AP, India was examined for antioxidant properties. Methanol extract was screened for the estimation of total phenolic content by Folin-Ciocalteau assay. Antioxidant potential of the extract was measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay. Methanol extract exhibited 57.06 GAE mg/gm phenolic content and 48.62±0.29% DPPH radical scavenging activity at 100 mg/ml concentration with an IC50 value of 101.81 mg/ml. These results concluded that Anabaena sp. possess high antioxidant activity and can used for the isolation of antioxidant compounds.