Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Potential of Syzygium cumini Leaves

Abstract

Background: As a source of alternative medicines, plant derived drugs are of great potential and can be used to cure various health related ailments. One of the most common medicinal plant, Syzygium cumini commonly known as Jamun is well known for its various pharmaceutical properties. In the traditional medicine, the entire plant has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases. For the treatment of diabetes, the preparation of tea from the leaves of Syzygium cumini is known for its hypoglycaemic effect. Leaves are also used in the treatement of various skin diseases. Methods: Keeping in view the above concerns, the investigation of this plant aims to assess the phytochemical and antioxidant content of the ethyl acetate extract of locally available Syzygium cumini leaves samples acquired from the campus of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The proposed study was conducted in Department of Chemistry, CCS HAU, Hisar during 2019-2021. Samples were collected and moisture content was estimated. Various chemicals and phytonutrients like alkaloids, tannins, minerals, crude protein, crude fibre, flavonoids and total phenolics were investigated in shade dried samples. Result: The total phenolic and flavanoid content were 11.48 mg GAE/g and 5.17 mg CE/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity of Syzygium cumini leaves extract was investigated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and total antioxidant capacity using phospho-molybdenum assay. The result showed that ethyl acetae extract of Jamun leaves had potential antioxidant activity which justifies their medicinal applications for the treatment of various ailments.