Phytochemical screening, antioxidant, antibacterial activities of citrus sinensis peel extracts

In the present-day scenario perishable fruit peels are considered as a new era of pharmaceutical products as they are rich in phytochemicals and act as antioxidant agents. In this work, the phytochemicals are analysedusing the various extracts of Citrus sinensis peel (aqueous, acetone, ethanol and hexane). The identified phytochemicals are alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, glycosides, steroids and phenolic compounds. These phytochemicals are widely used for cure many diseases (liver, cardiac and brain related diseases) as well as used in preparation of medicines. The antioxidants are very important for our body because they reduce the free radicals. The present study also evaluates the antioxidants found in Citrus sinensis peel extracts using DPPH assay and total phenolic assays. The hexane and water extracts have more antioxidant activity in DPPH assay and total phenolic assays respectively. The extracts of orange peel C.sinensis exhibited potent antibacterial activity against E.coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bacillus subtilis. From this, the zone of inhibition of is higher in acetone extractthan others. Findings from this study support the useless orange peels are very supportive for medicinal purposes.