Phytochemical and antioxidant potential of the crude extracts of Ipomoea quamoclit

Abstract

The emergence of new chronic and infectious diseases has spurred intense research efforts to identify new and effective substances for combating these global health challenges. Plants have been widely acknowledged as a principal source of drug discovery due to their remarkable ability to produce a diverse array of bioactive molecules. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the phytochemical and antioxidant potential of the crude extracts obtained from different parts of Ipomoea quamoclit. Various parts of I. quamoclit were collected, ground, dried, and processed into a coarse powder. Subsequently, solvent extraction using methanol and ethyl acetate was performed to obtain the extracts. The methanolic extract (ME) of the plant's leaves exhibited a higher phenolic content (6.097±0.189 mg/g of GAE) compared to the ME of the root (4.515±0.1884 mg/g of GAE). Additionally, the ethyl acetate extract (EAE) of the leaves showed a higher flavonoid content (12.815±0.234 mg/g of CAE) compared to the EAE of the root (11.229±3.558 mg/g of CAE). Moreover, the ME of the stem displayed a higher antioxidant capacity (41.488±0.684 mg/g of AAE) than the ME of the leaves (37.133±5.604 mg/g of AAE). The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the ME of the stem of I. quamoclit was 64.050%, comparable to that of BHT (77.48%). These findings indicate that I. quamoclit holds promise as a valuable source of phytochemicals and antioxidant compounds.