UJI KAPASITAS ANTIOKSIDAN FRAKSI-FRAKSI DARI EKSTRAK ETANOL BUAH LEUNCA (Solanum nigrum L.) DENGAN METODE DPPH

Abstract

Free radicals are unstable molecules or molecular fragments that accumulate in the body, triggering oxidative stress that leads to various degenerative diseases. One source of exogenous antioxidants is plants containing phenolic compounds, which act as natural antioxidants. Leunca (Solanum nigrum L.) is a plant rich in both phenolic compounds and flavonoids. Unripe leunca fruit is superior to ripe leunca fruit because its extract has a lower IC₅₀ value of 120,578 µg/ml and a higher total phenolic content of 23,944 mgGAE/g. This study aims to determine the antioxidant capacity of unripe leunca fruit extract and its fractions, as well as to identify differences in antioxidant capacity between the unripe leunca fruit extract and its fractions. The extract was obtained by maceration using 70% ethanol, followed by vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) fractionation to identify specific active compounds acting as antioxidants. The antioxidant capacity of the extraction and fractionation products was tested using the DPPH assay, along with phytochemical screening to identify the compounds acting as antioxidants. The antioxidant capacity of the unripe leunca fruit ethanol extract, fraction C, and fraction D was classified as weak due to IC50 values of 250–500 µg/ml. Meanwhile, fractions A and B were classified as inactive because their IC50 values were >500 µg/ml. The lowest IC50 value was observed in fraction D, at 421,9896 ± 62,2307 µg/ml, which contained phenolic compounds. There was a significant difference between the ethanol extract of unripe leunca fruit and fractions A and B. However, there was no significant difference between the ethanol extract of unripe leunca fruit and fractions C and D.