Antioxidant activity test of Macerated extract and Sonicated extract of Areca nut (Areca catechu L.)

Abstract

The flavonoids in the areca nut (Areca catechu L.) seed extract make the herb potential as an antioxidant. The areca nut extract can be made using a conventional method, the maceration method. The maceration method was chosen because it is easy and suitable for materials that are not heat-resistant, but on the other hand, the sonication method can also be used because it can speed up the extraction time. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity of areca nut methanol extract that made by maceration and sonication methods and to test the differences in antioxidant activity caused by differences in extraction methods. Areca nut extract was prepared with 70% methanol as solvent by maceration and sonication methods. The antioxidant activity test was carried out using the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhidrazil) method with vitamin E as a positive control. The results of the antioxidant activity research showed that the average IC50 of macerated areca nut extract was 145.10 ± 103.10 ppm. The IC50 result of the sonicated extract was 149.73 ± 47.55 ppm. Based on the categorization of the mean of IC50, the antioxidant activity of macerated extract and sonicated extract of areca nut were included in moderate antioxidant activity. The results of the t-test on the IC50 value of the two extracts showed no difference in antioxidant activity with a p-value of 0.948 (> 0.05). This research concluded that macerated extract and sonicated extract from areca nut have moderate antioxidant activity and no difference in antioxidant activity caused by different extraction methods.