Author/Authors :
Che Awang, Che Noorziela Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - Faculty of Biosciences and Bioengineering - Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Malaysia , Abidin, Khairunnisa Zainol Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - Faculty of Biosciences and Bioengineering - Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Malaysia , Ayob, Zahidah Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - Faculty of Biosciences and Bioengineering - Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Malaysia , Abdul Rahman, Nor’ Ain Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - Faculty of Biosciences and Bioengineering - Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Malaysia , Abd Samad, Azman Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - Faculty of Biosciences and Bioengineering - Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Malaysia
Abstract :
Kaempferol is a natural flavonol and has been reported to reduce risk of pancreatic cancer and protect against heart disease. Kaempferol also acts as antioxidant that prevents oxidative damage to cell, lipids and DNA. The purpose of this study was to determine kaempferol distribution in the leaves of 20 Malaysian medicinal plants using GC-FID. Results demonstrated that kaempferol was only detected in eight plant species. Of all plants tested, Tibouchina semidecandra contained the highest kaempferol concentration. Further assessment showed that mature leaf extracts of T. Semidecandra had more kaempferol (4689.75±654.83mg kg^-1) than young leaf extracts (1945.04±138.81mg kg^-1). However, no kaempferol was detected in shoot extracts. These findings suggest that kaempferol content depends on plant species and physiological state of the plant organs. Thus, T. semidecandra could be an alternative source of kaempferol.
Keywords :
Kaempferol , flavonol , antioxidant , GC , FID , mature leaf
