Abstract
Arrabidaea chica leaf extract has been used by people as an anti-inflammatory and astringent agent as well as a remedy for intestinal colic, diarrhea, leucorrhea, anemia, and leukemia. A. chica is known to be a good producer of phenolics. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated its antioxidant activity. The phenolic composition of A. chica leaves was studied by liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection (LC–DAD) and liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS), and isoscutellarein, 6-hydroxyluteolin, hispidulin, scutellarein, luteolin, and apigenin were identified. The extract from leaves of A. chica was tested for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, β-carotene bleaching test, and total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP) method. The crude extract quenched DPPH free radicals in a dose-dependent manner, and the IC50 of the extract was 13.51 µg/mL. The β-carotene bleaching test showed that the addition of the A. chica extract in different concentrations (200 and 500 µg/mL) prevented the bleaching of β-carotene at different degrees (51.2% ±3.38% and 94% ±4.61%, respectively). The TRAP test showed dose-dependent correlation between the increasing concentrations of A. chica extract (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 µg/mL) and the TRAP values obtained by trolox (hydro-soluble vitamin E) 0.4738±0.0466, 1.981±0.1603, and 6.877±1.445 µM, respectively. The 2 main flavonoids, scutellarein and apigenin, were separated, and their antioxidant activity was found to be the same as that of the plant extract. These 2 flavonoids were quantified in the plant extract by using a validated HPLC-UV method. The results of these tests showed that the extract of A. chica had a significant antioxidant activity, which could be attributed to the presence of the mixture of flavonoids in the plant extract, with the main contribution of scutellarein and apigenin.
Highlights
Flavonoids are a class of secondary plant metabolites having diverse structures [1]
This study aimed to analyze 2 major flavonoids obtained from the leaf extract of A. chica by using highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and investigate the antioxidant potential of the extract by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, b-carotene bleaching test, and total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP) test, and to compare the activity of the extract with that of the 2 metabolites separately using the TRAP method
Phytochemical Analysis The extract obtained from A. chica was fractionated on Sephadex LH-20, and the corresponding fractions were assayed for antioxidant activity
Summary
Flavonoids are a class of secondary plant metabolites having diverse structures (about 9,000) [1] They are polyphenolic compounds derived from 2-phenylchromane, which is commonly found in many plants, vegetables, and flowers [2]. To identify antioxidants in herbs, we investigated the antioxidant potential of Arrabidaea chica, a shrub plant that shows widespread distribution from South Mexico to central Brazil, in the Amazon region. This plant belongs to the family Bignoniaceae which contains approximately 120 genera and 800 species [8,9,10]. A literature review indicated that this plant is a source of anthocyanins, flavonoids, tannins, and phytosterols [11,12,13,14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
