Phytochemical Screening, Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activity of Leaf Extract of Muntingia calabura

Muntingia calabura or locally known as kerukup siam in Malaysia belongs to the Muntingiaceae family. This study aimed to investigate the potential application of M. calabura leaves from Melaka and extraction using different non-polar solvents from a previously study by conducting the preliminary analysis on phytochemical screening, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. The phytochemicals were extracted by sequential maceration by using n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The phytochemical screening was performed using various chemical tests and established standard procedures. Meanwhile, the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the extracts were assessed by using Folin-Ciocalteau method and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, respectively. Flavonoids, phenols, triterpenes, and steroids were present in the extract using n-hexane. The methanol extract contained flavonoids, phenols, steroids, triterpenes, tannins, reducing sugars, and saponins. The methanol extract exhibited the highest phenolic content at 8.20 mg GAE/g. Among the tested extracts, the methanol extract demonstrated strong DPPH radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 167.70 μg/mL. This study confirmed the presence of various phytochemicals in M. calabura leaves from Melaka that possessed good potentials as antioxidants. This finding would benefit future research and exploration on biochemical profiles in different usages/applications especially in pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical commercialisation.