Assessment of Antioxidant Potential, Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents of Different Solvent Extracts from Dried Leaves of Ficus Exasperata Vahl

The therapeutic properties of plant-based natural products have been shown to be determined by the nature of the intrinsic secondary metabolites. Equally, the quantities and qualities of the secondary metabolites depend on the nature of the selected extraction solvent. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant potential and to determine the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of various solvent extracts from dried leaves of Ficus exasperata Vahl. The in vitro estimations of their antioxidant properties were carried out through the ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant capacity (AEAC) assay which measures the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical discoloration abilities and the ferric ion reducing potential (FRAP) assay. The amounts of phenolics and flavonoids in the extracts were determined through spectrophotometric analyses. The data obtained were analysed using a one-way analysis of variance. The results showed variances in their antioxidative activities with respect to the antioxidant assessments. The extract obtained from n-butanol had the highest AEAC value, followed by the ethanol extract while FRAP values were not significantly ( p < 0.05) different in the ethanol and aqueous extracts. The least amount of FRAP was estimated in the n-butanol extract. The quantities of the phenolics obtained from aqueous extract were higher ( p < 0.05) than those in other extracts. Likewise, the extract obtained from n-butanol was shown to have the highest amounts of flavonoids compared to other selected extractives. The study showed that the physical and chemical natures of these solvents could play a critical role in extractions of the antioxidative compounds of the dried leaves of F. exasperata which could invariably influence the biological applications of the respective extracts.