Antioxidant activities and phytochemical analysis of muntingia calabural and cynometra cauliflora

Muntingia calabura L and Cynometra cauliflora are underutilizing fruits which have been used traditionally to cure diseases such as diarrhoea, inflammatory problems and headaches. In this study, the crude ethanol extract of Muntingia calabura L (ME) and crude ethanol extract of Cynometra cauliflora (CE) were tested for antioxidant antivity using DPPH assay. The percentage of DPPH scavenging activity for ME at concentration of 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 μg/ml were 16.87 ± 2.14, 25.51 ± 0.95, 42.24 ± 0.25, 48.17 ± 0.34 and 70.44 ± 2.03 μg/ml, respectively. The IC₅₀ value was 88.57 ± 4.04 μg/ml. The percentage of DPPH scavenging activity for CE at concentration 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 μg/ml were 20.91 ± 2.14, 37.88 ± 0.95, 81.30 ± 0.25, 89.93 ± 0.34, and 92.05 ± 2.03 ,g/ml, respectively. The IC₅₀ value was 25.60 ± 1.07 μg/ml. Both extract were subjected to TLC and sprayed with solution of 5% ferric chloride. Results showed the presence of phenolic compounds as depicted by brown spot. Therefore, we concluded the antioxidant activities of the ME and CE were due to the presence of phenolic compound(s). Hence for further research are needed to isolate and elucidate the active compound in this fruits.