Standardization, Determination of Antioxidant Activity and Total Flavonoid contents of purified extract of Lawsonia inermis Leaves

Abstract

Introduction: Lawsonia inermis L is a medicinal herb from Lythraceae family. This plant is proven to be able to treat various diseases. Lawsonia inermis L is one of the flowering plant of a single species of the genus Lawsonia. This plant contains the main active compounds such as flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, tannins, and essential oils. Flavonoids and phenols are the active compounds which most commonly found. Objective : This study aims to determine the quality parameters of the extract which include specific and non-specific parameters, antioxidant activity and total flavonoid content in purified extracts of Lawsonia inermis L. Methodology: The extract was obtained by maceration method using 96% ethanol. Purified extract was obtained by separating the chlorophyll and tannins contained in the sample using ethanol and aqudes, then continued by partitioning using ethyl acetate and adding MgSO4 as a drying agent. The ethyl acetate phase was concentrated using a Rotary Vacuum Evaporator to obtain a purified extract with a reddish black color. Furthermore, the extract was analyzed using thin layer chromatography (TLC) using eluent n-hexane: ethyl acetate (1: 1). Result : Specific parameters include organoleptic observations, water-soluble compounds and ethanol-soluble compounds, while non-specific parameters include drying loss, moisture content, total ash content, acid soluble content, specific gravity, microbial contamination, mold/yeast contamination, Pb metal contamination, Cd and As. The antioxidant activity assay used the DPPH method and the IC50 value was 39.07 mg / L, while the total flavonoid test used quercetin as a comparison and the total flavonoid content was 3.29%. Conclusion : The purified extract of Lawsonia inermis L. leaves comply the quality standard of the extract, has very strong antioxidant activity and contains flavonoids.