Phytochemical, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Evaluations of Ipomoea batatas L. from Riau, Sumatera Island, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is rich in its biodiversity of medicinal plants used traditionally for healing several ailments. Ipomoea batatas L., one of the traditional herbs of Indonesia that is popularly known as sweet potato, has played a significant role as a source of energy and phytochemicals in human nutrition and animal feeding. In traditional use, Ipomoea batatas (I. batatas) is effectively utilized in herbal medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent for treatment of illnesses and infectious oral diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the phytochemical screening, with the antibacterial and antioxidant activity of extracts of I. batatas leaves. Antibacterial effect was tested against Grampositive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and resistant bacteria through the agar disc diffusion method while antioxidant activity was analyzed using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging method. The phytochemical screening showed the ethanol extract contains alkaloids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, tannins and saponins. The IC50 value for antioxidant properties was 233.476±0.01 ppm. Antimicrobial activity showed that percentage of inhibition growth was 83.61%. Ethanol extract showed the moderate antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans with diameter inhibition zone 8.7±0.01 cm and 10.2±0.3 cm in concentration 40%, respectively. Owing to the presence of its rich variety of secondary metabolites, the leaves extract of Ipomoea batatas L. is expected to exhibit more medicinal properties and be useful to develop as therapeutic agents in the future.