Antioxidant activities of methanolic extract and its fractions of Baccaurea racemosa and Macaranga subpeltata leaves
Oxidative stress, the excessive presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is suggested as a basal cause of aging as well as various degenerative and chronic diseases in human. Antioxidants are believed to play a very vital role in the body defense system against ROS. Plant-based antioxidants with their prominence have gained tremendous worldwide interest nowadays. Baccaurea racemosa and Macaraanga subpeltata are among ethnomedical used plants for liver diseases medication which have potential source as natural antioxidants. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the methanolic crude extract (CE) and their fractions of the plant’s leaves. Maceration was performed to obtain CE, which then subjected to fractionation using n-hexane, dichloromethane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and ethanol to obtain fractions of hexane fraction (HF), dichloromethane (DF), chloroform (CF), ethyl acetate (EAF), and ethanol fractions (EF), respectively. The CE and all fractions included water fraction (WF) and residue (R) were examined for its total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activities using various in vitro assay. In general, EAF demonstrated as the best solvent for the extracting phenolic compounds with higher antioxidant activity. The CE and its fractions of M. subpeltata contained higher of TPC and TFC, also demonstrated higher antioxidant capacity, than that B. racemosa. The phenolics compounds were responsible for the antiradical properties. The EAF of M. subpeltata was scavenging those radicals better than that of L-(+)ascorbic acid as a positive control. The high antioxidant activities and phenolics contents make both the plant extracts to be developed as a food supplement.