DPPH scavenging activity of clinacanthus nutans extracts

Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) is a shrub from the family Acantaceae that is known in Malaysia as Belalai Gajah. The extracts of C. nutans were prepared from dried leaves using ethyl acetate and ethanol. Then, the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of C. nutans were evaluated for their antioxidants properties. The scavenging activity was evaluated by using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The results showed that ethanol extracts contain high antioxidants activities compared to ethyl acetate extracts. However, compared to Trolox, both extracts reveal some potential in antioxidants activity as their percentages exceeded more than 50 % of scavenging activity. Thus, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of C. nutans may be examined as new sources of antioxidants in herbal medicines' research.