Abstract
Objective: Star fruit (Averrhoa carambola L.) is a plant with numerous benefits, including anti-skin inflammation properties. The aim of the presentstudy was to evaluate simplicia and ethyl acetate fractions of star fruit leaves collected from three regions in Indonesia, including Depok, Subang, andSukabumi, and to characterize specific and non-specific parameters.Methods: Extraction was performed through maceration. Next, liquid partitioning was performed to obtain ethyl acetate fractions. Chromatogramsfor simplicia and ethyl acetate fractions for samples from three regions were obtained using chloroform: methanol:water (8:2:0.5) with apigenin asthe standard.Results: The yield of the ethyl acetate fraction from the star fruit leaves was 4.2–6.2%. Water content, total ash content, and acid-soluble ash contentswere 4.79%, 1.55%, and 0.064%, respectively, and total flavonoid levels were 14.63–22.14 mg QE/g of a fraction. The water-soluble and ethanol-solubleextracts were 14.32% and 9.69%, respectively, and total flavonoid contents were 0.12–0.18 mg QE/g simplicia. In addition, drying losses, ash content,and acid-soluble ash content were 9.70%, 7.14%, and 0.31%, respectively. The results of solvent residues and heavy metal contaminant (Hg, Pb, Cd,and As) tests indicated that the ethyl acetate fraction did not contain solvent residue or heavy metal contamination.Conclusion: The specific and non-specific parameters based on simplicia and ethyl acetate fractions from star fruit leaves meet the requirement.
Highlights
Standardization is necessary to obtain uniform raw materials which would guarantee consistent pharmacological effects of medicinal plants [1,11]
Specific parameters include the identity of the extract, the organoleptic extract, and the concentrations of substances to be dissolved in certain solvents, while the non-specific parameters include drying shrinkage, moisture content, total ash content, residual solvents, pesticide residues, and contamination with heavy metals, in addition to microbial contamination [12]
Averrhoa carambola L., which is commonly known in Indonesian society as star fruit, is a plant used extensively in traditional medicine [5,8]
Summary
Standardization is necessary to obtain uniform raw materials which would guarantee consistent pharmacological effects of medicinal plants [1,11]. A key challenge, is how to determine the consistency of the quality of crude drugs and extracts of a plant cultivated across regions with different altitudes, soil conditions, and weather [9]. Quality requirements for extracts and botanicals consist of specific predefined parameters and various general standards (nonspecific) [2,3]. Averrhoa carambola L., which is commonly known in Indonesian society as star fruit, is a plant used extensively in traditional medicine [5,8]. Star fruit leaves have numerous health benefits, for example, they have antiulcer, anthelmintics, and antitumor properties, in addition to being used to manage hypotension [15]. Studies have shown that the ethyl acetate fraction of star fruit leaves contains high levels of apigenin most and exhibits the highest lipoxygenase enzyme inhibitory activity [13,14]
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