Antioxidant Activities in Different Parts of Pulasan (Nephelium mutabile Blume) from East Borneo

Abstract

Nephelium mutabile Blume (Traditionally known as Pulasan or Kapulasan) is a plant resembling the rambutan fruit that grows mostly on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Pulasan has a unique characteristic, the skin of this fruit was hairless and had very bright color. The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity of different parts of the Pulasan, including the peels, seeds and leaves. Antioxidant activity was determined by IC50 values using the DPPH method (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) with Vitamin C as a positive control. Each part of the plant was extracted using 96% ethanol then the total phenolic compound was tested using a gallic acid as the standard. The results showed that ethanol extract of pulasan leaves had the highest antioxidant activity with the value 20.99 µg/mL (very strong antioxidant), while the seeds and peels of pulasan showed antioxidant activity of 520.68 µg/mL and >1000 µg/mL (not active as antioxidants) respectively. This result shows that ethanol extract from the leaves of Pulasan has potential to be developed as a source of natural antioxidants.