Profile of Secondary Metabolites in Different Part of the Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) Plant with Antioxidant Activity

Abstract

The butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea) is widely used in traditional medicine and has the potential to be an antioxidant. The study aimed to compare the antioxidant capacity of the ethanol extract of the butterfly pea flower and the metabolite profile of the n-hexane fraction in different parts of the plant. The butterfly pea flower was planted for 12 weeks, and as many as 30 plants were in the Tropical Biopharmaca Research Center Cikabayan experimental garden, Bogor, Indonesia. Plant measurements included plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and plant production, which always increased during the experiment. The root had the highest phenolic content of each part of the plant (roots, flowers, leaves, and stems), with a phenolic content of 83.45 mg GAE/g. At the same time, the highest flavonoid content was in the leaves, with a total flavonoid value of 5.96 mg QE/g. Flowers and leaves only have anthocyanin content. The root had the highest antioxidant activity (low IC50 value) of each part of the plant, with an IC50 value of 106.973 µg/mL. The GC-MS results from the roots showed 13 compounds identified: 12 in the flower parts, 11 in the leaf parts, and 9 in the stem parts.