Preliminary Chemical, Total Phenolic Content, Flavonoid Content, and Antioxidant Activity of some Plants Used in Vietnam Folk Medicine

Crinum latifolium , Eclipta prostrata , Ocimum gratissimum , Phyllanthus urinar ia and Streptocaulon juventas have been used in Vietnam traditional medicine practices for anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer effects and antioxidant activities since prehistoric times. Ethanol and aqueous extracts from five medicinal herbs were evaluated for their antioxidative, free radical scavenging activities and phytochemical screening. Research results showed that these medicinal herbs all had rich chemical composition, such as alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, phenols, etc. Among ten extracts, C.latifolium ethanol extract showed the significantly highest total phenolic content (66.8 ± 4.14 mgGAE/g) and total flavonoids content (99.69 ± 9.88 mgQE/g). Both ethanol extracts from O.gratissimum and P.urinaria were showed the most elevated antioxidant potentials in DPPH and ABTS assays. These findings suggest that the rich phytochemical content and the good antioxidant activity of five herbal plants may be responsible for its popular and wide traditional use.