Oxidative stress causes tissue damage, persistent inflammation and slowed wound healing. There is growing interest in plant-based antioxidants as safer substitutes for synthetic ones. Rich in lignans and polyphenols, sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) have been shown to possess cytoprotective and free-radical-scavenging properties important for tissue protection. To develop an aqueous sesame–raspberry herbal formulation and evaluate its in vitro antioxidant potential using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O₂) scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The roots of R. idaeus and S. indicum were cleaned, dried in the shade, ground into a powder and extracted separately with distilled water under controlled heating conditions. The extracts were oven-dried and combined in equal amounts to prepare the herbal formulation. The final dry extract yield was 10.46 %. Preliminary phytochemical screening was performed and the antioxidant activity of the formulation was evaluated using DPPH, H2O2 scavenging and FRAP assays at concentrations of 10–50 µg/mL, with ascorbic acid as the reference standard. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed abundant flavonoids and phenols, moderate levels of alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, terpenoids and anthocyanins and the presence of saponins and steroids. The herbal formulation demonstrated concentration-dependent antioxidant activity, with responses ranging 62.25–89.99 % in the DPPH assay, 47.30–84.45 % in the H₂O₂ assay and 67.41–87.62 % in the FRAP assay across 10–50 µg/mL. The formulation showed lower antioxidant responses than the ascorbic acid standard across the tested concentrations. The aqueous sesame–raspberry herbal formulation demonstrated measurable in vitro antioxidant activity across the tested concentration range. Further studies involving quantitative phytochemical characterisation, additional concentration ranges and biological models are required to further establish its antioxidant potential.
