Biological activities and phytochemicals of five orangutan food plants from Wehea-Kelay Landscape

Abstract

Abstract Several studies on the therapeutic potential of primate plant food species have been reported. However, research into the medicinal properties of orangutan plant foods is still in its early stages. The purpose of this research is to examine the phytochemical composition and biological activities of five orangutan food plants taken from the Wehea-Kelay Landscape: Aglaia elliptica, Croton argyratus, Artocarpus lanceifolius, Artocarpus odoratissimus, and Baccaurea macrocarpa. Phytochemicals analysis were conducted by color changes and colorimetry methods. To determine the antioxidant activity, DPPH free radical scavenging was used. The agar-well diffusion technique was used to assay the antimicrobial activity against four pathogenic microorganisms. The results showed that the plants contained alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and carbohydrates. The total flavonoid content of the plants varied from 64.91 to 95.87 mg CE/g extract, whereas the total phenolic content ranged from 76.93 to 115.58 mg GAE/g extract. The antimicrobial assay revealed that at specific concentrations, the plants samples were able to inhibit the tested microorganisms. The five plants inhibited DPPH free radicals with IC50 values ranging from 47.22 to 77.6 ppm. The findings of this study demonstrated that the five plants possess antioxidant activity as scientific evidence of therapeutic properties of orangutan food plants.