EVALUATION OF ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES AND TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT OF LEAF EXTRACTS OF Christia vespertillionis

Abstract

Christia vespertilionis, often known as Rerama in Malaysia, has long been esteemed for its diverse medicinal uses across various cultures. Realising its importance for medicinal purposes, recent studies have rapidly increased to unlock the potential of C. vespertilionis as a source of new alternative natural drugs for medications. In this study, phytochemical screening, antioxidant properties, and the total phenolic content (TPC) were investigated. Three types of crude extracts of C. vespertilionis leaves were involved in the assessment: hexane, ethyl acetate (EA), and methanol crude extracts prepared from maceration, filtration, and evaporation. The evaluation of antioxidant properties of all types of extracts was held through semiquantitative dot blot assay and quantitative 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity studies. The quantification of TPC was conducted using Folin-Ciocalteu method. Preliminary phytochemicals study showed the presence of alkaloid, terpenoid, tannin, saponin, and phenolic in C. vespertilionis leaves. The semiquantitative dot blot assay study revealed methanol extract was the most antioxidative with the lowest concentration to scavenge DPPH radical (0.012 mg/). However, based on the quantitative DPPH radical scavenging activity study, the EA extract was estimated to be more antioxidative with the lowest value of IC₅₀ (0.954 µg/mL). Folin-Ciocalteu method suggested that the EA extract of C. vespertilionis leaves contained higher TPC value (0.8711 mg GAE/g sample) compared to the other extracts. We conclude that the C. vespertilionis leaves have potential to act as an antioxidant agent, in which the findings could serve as basic scientific information for future investigation.