Abstract
The therapeutic properties of plant-based natural products have been shown to be determined by the nature of the intrinsic secondary metabolites. Equally, the quantities and qualities of the secondary metabolites depend on the nature of the selected extraction solvent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant potential and to determine the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of various solvent extracts from dried leaves of Ficus exasperata Vahl. The in vitro estimations of their antioxidant properties were carried out through the ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant capacity (AEAC) assay which measures the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical discoloration abilities and the ferric ion reducing potential (FRAP) assay. The amounts of phenolics and flavonoids in the extracts were determined through spectrophotometric analyses. The data obtained were analysed using a one-way analysis of variance.
The results showed variances in their antioxidative activities with respect to the antioxidant assessments. The extract obtained from n-butanol had the highest AEAC value, followed by the ethanol extract while FRAP values were not significantly (p < 0.05) different in the ethanol and aqueous extracts. The least amount of FRAP was estimated in the n-butanol extract. The quantities of the phenolics obtained from aqueous extract were higher (p < 0.05) than those in other extracts. Likewise, the extract obtained from n-butanol was shown to have the highest amounts of flavonoids compared to other selected extractives. The study showed that the physical and chemical natures of these solvents could play a critical role in extractions of the antioxidative compounds of the dried leaves of F. exasperata which could invariably influence the biological applications of the respective extracts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Titanji VPK, Zofou D, Ngemenya MN (2008) The antimalarial potential of medicinal plants used for the treatment of malaria in Cameroonian folk medicine. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med 5:302–321
Woode E, Poku RA, Abotsi WK (2011) Anxiolytic-like effects of leaf extract of Ficus axasperata Vahl (Moraceae) in mice. West Afr J Pharm 22:75–81
Oboh G, Akinyemi AJ, Osanyinlusi FR, Ademiluyi AO, Boligon AA, Athayde ML (2014) Phenolic compounds from sandpaper (Ficus exasperata) leaf inhibits angiotensin 1 converting enzyme in high cholesterol diet-fed rats. J Ethnopharmacol 157:119–125
Adewole SO, Adenowo TK, Naicker T, Ojewole JAO (2011) Hypoglycaemic and hypotensive effects of Ficus Exasperata Vahl (Moraceae) leaf aqueous extract in rats. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med 8(3):275–283
Mouho DG, Oliveira AP, Kodjo CG, Valentão P, Gil-Izquierdo A, Andrade PB, Ouattara ZA, Bekro YA, Ferreres F (2018) Chemical findings and in vitro biological studies to uphold the use of Ficus exasperata Vahl leaf and stem bark. Food Chem Toxicol 112:134–144
Mikail HG, Akumka DD, Adamu M, Zaifada AU (2019) Evaluation of phytochemical constituents and sedative-hypnotic activity of the methanol leaf extract of Ficus exasperata in mice. Vet World 12(6):830–833
Oso BJ, Oyeleke O, Soetan O (2018) Influence of different solvent polarities on the phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant properties of the fruit of Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Rich Tr Phytochem Res 2(2):97–102
Oso BJ, Ogidi CO (2019) Antioxidant assays by reducing potential and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging techniques as affected by pH and ion concentrations. Braz J Biol Sci 6(12):53–61
Sinha AK (1972) Colorimetric assay of catalase. Anal Biochem 47:389–394
Oyaizu M (1986) Studies on products of browning reactions: antioxidative activities of products of browning reaction prepared from glucosamine. Jap J Nutr 44:307–315
Singleton VL, Orthofer R, Lamuela-Raventos RM (1999) Analysis of total phenols and other oxidation substrates and antioxidants by means of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Methods Enzymol 299:152–178
Zhishen J, Mengcheng T, Jianming W (1999) The determination of flavonoid contents in mulberry and their scavenging effects on superoxide radicals. Food Chem 64:555–559
Zhang L, Ravipati AS, Koyyalamudi SR, Jeong SC, Reddy N, Smith PT, Bartlett J, Shanmugam K, Münch DG, Wu MJ (2011) Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of selected medicinal plants containing phenolic and flavonoid compounds. J Agric Food Chem 59:12361–12367
Nwozo SO, Oso BJ, Oyinloye EB (2015) Effect of heat on antioxidant activity of some tropical leafy vegetables. Nig J Basic App Sci 23(2):93–101
Oso BJ, Oladiji AT (2019) Total phenolic contents and antioxidant variations in raw and cooked dried fruit of Xylopia aethiopica. Int Annals Sci 6(1):13–17
Sultana B, Anwar F, Ashraf M (2009) Effect of extraction solvent/technique on the antioxidant activity of selected medicinal plants extract. Molecules 14:2167–2180
Oso BJ, Olowookere BD (2018) A study on the total phenolics and antioxidant properties of different solvent extracts of dried leaves of Cassia alata (L) Roxb. Med Plants 10(4):348–352
Varghese GK, Bose LV, Habtemariam S (2013) Antidiabetic components of Cassia alata leaves: identification through α-glucosidase inhibition studies. Pharmaceut Biol 51(3):345–349
Chatepa LEC, Masamba K (2019) The influence of solvent’s polarity on physicochemical properties and oil yield extracted from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) seed. J Agric Biotech Sust Dev 11(3):40–47
Gregory AP, Clarke RN (2005) Traceable measurements of the static permittivity of dielectric reference liquids over the temperature range 5–50 ℃. Meas Sci Technol 16:1506–1516
Mohsen-Nia M, Amiri H, Jazi B (2010) Dielectric constants of water, methanol, ethanol, butanol and acetone: measurement and computational study. J Sol Chem 39:701–708
Lapuerta M, Rodríguez-Fernández J, Fernández-Rodríguez D, Patiño-Camino R (2017) Modeling viscosity of butanol and ethanol blends with diesel and biodiesel fuels. Fuel 199:332–338
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the technical assistance of the staff in the Biochemistry Laboratory, McPherson University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
BJO conceived, designed and performed the experiments with the assistance of IFO. BJO wrote the manuscript draft. Revision of the manuscript was done by all the authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Significance statement The study assessed the influence of solvents with varying polarities on the anti-oxidative potential of dried leaves of Ficus exasperata Vahl and the results revealed that the properties of extracting solvents could influence the antioxidant properties of the leaves.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Oso, B.J., Olaoye, I.F. Assessment of Antioxidant Potential, Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents of Different Solvent Extracts from Dried Leaves of Ficus Exasperata Vahl. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 93, 373–377 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-022-01431-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-022-01431-6