Total Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Activities of Leaves and Bark Extract of Adenanthera pavonina L

Adenanthera pavonina L. is an important medicinal plant for Indonesian traditional medicine (“Jamu”). The present study is to determine the phenolic content and evaluate the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of leaves and bark of A. pavonina. The total phenolic content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent methods, and the antioxidant activity was performed by phosphomolybdate assay, through EC50 values. The highest phenolic content (81.379 mg GAE/g) was found in the hydro-ethanolic extract of the leaves and (80.630 mg GAE/g) in the bark. The antioxidant activity of the two samples was 42.270 μg/mL (leaves) and 45.261 μg/mL (bark). Plants have the potential as drugs with good antioxidant potential and phenolic compound content. Further scientific studies of this plant are supported to evaluate the antioxidant activity using other methods to validate these preliminary experiments properly.

New anthraquinone and iridoid from the fruits of Morinda citrifolia.

From the fruits of Morinda citrifolia L., one new anthraquinone, 5,15-O-dimethylmorindol, together with five known anthraquinones and one new iridoid, morindacin, together with two known iridoids, were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data.

Chemical constituents of Morinda citrifolia fruits inhibit copper-induced low-density lipoprotein oxidation.

The oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) plays an important role in the genesis of arteriosclerosis. The present study focused on the effects of the fruits of Morinda citrifolia on preventing arteriosclerosis. The MeOH extract and CHCl(3)-, EtOAc-, n-BuOH-, and H(2)O-soluble phases derived from the fruits of M. citrifolia were evaluated for their inhibitory activity on copper-induced LDL oxidation by the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) method. The MeOH extract and EtOAc-soluble phase showed 88 and 96% inhibition, respectively. Six lignans were isolated by repeated column chromatography from the EtOAc-soluble phase. These compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis to be 3,3'-bisdemethylpinoresinol (1), americanol A (2), americanin A (3), americanoic acid A (4), morindolin (5), and isoprincepin (6), of which 4 and 5 are novel compounds. These compounds inhibited copper-induced LDL oxidation in a dose-dependent manner. 1, 2, 5, and 6 exhibited remarkably strong activities, which were the same or better than that of the known antioxidant 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol. The IC(50) values for 1, 2, 5, and 6 were 1.057, 2.447, 2.020, and 1.362 microM, respectively. The activity of these compounds is mainly due to their number of phenolic hydroxyl groups.