Abstract
This paper describes the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and phenolic components of different solvent (absolute methanol, absolute ethanol, absolute acetone, 80% methanol, 80% ethanol, 80% acetone and deionized water) extracts of leaves, flowers and bark of Gold Mohar [Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf.]. The extract yields from leaves, flowers and bark ranged from 10.19 to 36.24, 12.97 to 48.47 and 4.22 to 8.48 g/100 g dry weight (DW), respectively. Overall, 80% methanol extract produced from the leaves exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) higher antioxidant activity, with high phenolic contents (3.63 g GAE/100 g DW), total flavonoid contents (1.19 g CE/100 g DW), inhibition of peroxidation (85.54%), DPPH scavenging capacity (IC50 value 8.89 μg/mL) and reducing power (1.87). Similarly, this 80% methanol leaves extract also showed superior antimicrobial activity. HPLC analysis of the 80% methanol extracts for individual phenolics revealed the presence of gallic, protocatechuic and salicylic acid in leaves; gallic, protocatechuic, salicylic, trans-cinnamic and chlorogenic acid in flowers, and gallic acid in bark as the main (amount > 1.50 mg/100 g DW) phenolic acids. Besides, small amounts (<1.50 mg/100 g DW) of some other phenolic acids such as sorbic, sinapic, p-coumaric, m-coumaric, ferulic, caffeic, 3-hydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxycinnamic and 4-hydroxybenzoic acids were also detected. The extracts of the tested parts of Gold Mohar, especially, the leaves, might be valuable for functional food and therapeutic applications.
Highlights
Gold Mohar [Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf.] known as Royal Poinciana, Flamboyant andFlame tree is a species of flowering plant, belonging to the family Caesalpiniaceae
Among different solvent extracts tested in this study, 80% methanol extract of leaves showed the highest total phenolic contents (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC), followed by flowers and bark, respectively. 80% methanol is known to be an efficient and widely used solvent to extract phenolics and flavonoids from plant materials, due to the fact that methanol-water mixtures are highly polar and show greater efficacy in the extraction of polar phytochemicals such as phenolics and flavonoids [22]
Different studies have indicated that the antioxidant potential of certain compounds is related to their reducing power [34,35], reducing power assays may serve as an important indicator of prospective antioxidant activity in a plant extract
Summary
Gold Mohar [Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf.] known as Royal Poinciana, Flamboyant and. Antioxidants inhibit or delay the oxidation process by blocking the initiation or propagation of oxidizing chain reactions and protect the human body from oxidative stress-related diseases [8] They are used to protect foods from rancidity, discoloration or deterioration due to auto-oxidation [9]. Some earlier studies revealed the medicinal attributes of Gold Mohar very little work has been done on the comparative research about the detailed antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of leaves, flowers and bark of this plant indigenous to sub-continental region and especially from Pakistan, so the present study was undertaken with the main objective of evaluating their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and to quantify phenolic acids in different parts of this valuable tree
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