In vitro antioxidant activity of anthocyanin fromareca catechu extract / Suryani Ibrahim

Formation of reactive oxygen species in plants whether during stressful periods or in a normal cellular function such as in aerobic respiration, would cause damaging effect to the plants cells. Thus, antioxidants such as anthocyanin are crucial for the protection of these plants cells from the reactive oxygen species's effect. Most plants have anthocyanins, flavonoid compounds responsible for the coloration of their fruits and leaves. Anthocyanins from a variety of fruits and vegetables have been shown to possess potent antioxidant activity in vitro of scavenging free radicals. Areca catechu or betel palm is one of local plants abundantly found in Malaysia. This study is carried out to evaluate anthocyanin content in the extract of seeds and leaves of Areca catechu and to measure the total anthocyanin antioxidant activity. For evaluation of the concentration of anthocyanin, the absorbance of the extracts was taken at 527 nm. The calculation of anthocyanin content was then carried out using Beer's law, with an extinction coefficient of 33 000 (cyanidin-3glucoside). The two extracts are compared for their anthocyanin concentration and scavenging activity. The one with higher scavenging activity is the one higher with higher anthocyanin concentration. This shows that the antioxidant activity is due to the anthocyanin which was the major component in the extracts. The results obtained showed that there are higher antioxidants activity and lesser activity of DPPH free radical when the concentration of anthocyanin is increased in vitro. From this study, it has also been found that, the total anthocyanin content in the leaves extract was higher compared to the seeds extract.