CORRELATION BETWEEN TPC AND TFC WITH ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF Piper sarmentosum EXTRACT AND ITS FORMULATION FOR COSMETIC PURPOSES

Abstract

This study investigates the characteristics of an antioxidant cream made from the methanol extract of Piper sarmentosum leaves, which is locally known as the wild betel or pokok kadok in Malay. The secondary metabolites of the leaves were subjected to phytochemical tests to detect the presence of natural compounds. Antioxidant activity was described by its total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), which was assessed by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. A phase diagram was constructed to find a possible region to formulate an antioxidant cream. In phytochemical screening, the methanolic extract showed positive presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and tannins. In quantitative analysis of antioxidative components, besides having significantly higher TFC content compared with quercetin (P<0.0001), the extract of P. sarmentosum leaves also displayed high phytochemical content and was proven to be an efficient free radical scavenger and reducing agent compared with ascorbic acid (p=0.0121). It was observed that the phytochemical compounds in the leaf extract like alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids and tannins were the major contributors of antioxidant activity. The leaf extract was also a suitable ingredient to produce a cream with good spreadability, homogeneity, consistency, appearance and pH.