Phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of dried leaves of paederia foetida / Siti Nur Liyana Darimi

The objectives of this study were to conduct phytochemical screening and to determine the antioxidant activity of dried leaves of P. foetida. The extracts were prepared using ethanol, methanoland hexane by using simple maceration process. Antioxidant activity of P. foetidawas determined by using the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and DPPH assay. Bioactive compounds such as phenols, flavonoids, alkaloid, terpenoids, glycoside, steroid and saponins were identified in dried leaves of P. foetida. The IC50 of ethanol, methanol and hexane extracts were 4.88, 3.19 and 12.35mg/mL respectively. The TPC of ethanolic, methanolic and hexane extracts of dried leaves of P. foetida in terms of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) were 1.37, 2.67 and 0.77 GAE/g respectively. The methanolic extract showed the highest phenolic content and the lowest phenolic content is the hexane extract. The TFC of the ethanolic, methanolic and hexane extracts of dried leaves in P. foetida in terms of quercetin equivalent (QE) were 0.63, 1.25 and 0.67 QE/g respectively. Among the three extracts, methanol extract showed the highest flavonoid content and hexane extract showed the lowest flavonoid content.The results obtained proved thatP. foetidais a promising source of a natural antioxidant. Thus, more study on this local species should be conducted.