Abstract:
Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (Myrtaceae) is also known as Java plum commonly
available in the Jaffna District, Sri Lanka has been widely used in traditional medicine to
treat diabetes and various diseases as allergies, inflammation, and gastric ulcers due to
the presence of bioactive compounds. In this study, the aim was to compare the
phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of the different parts of S. cumini. Three parts,
including leaves, seed coat, and bark, were collected in November from the Jaffna
District and their ethanol, methanol and aqueous extractions were subjected to the
evaluation of qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytochemicals and antioxidant
activity using standard laboratory procedures. Antioxidant capacity was measured using
spectrophotometer following standard procedures with DPPH and ABTS assays in which
trolox was used as the standard. Three replicates were maintained for each sample in
every analysis. The Statistical analysis of results was carried out using ANOVA using
mini tab 17 software and Turkey‟s multiple comparisons at probability value (p≤0.05).
Phytochemical analysis revealed that all extracts of all parts contained alkaloids,
flavonoids, tannins, phenol, triterpenoid, quinone, and saponins. The highest phenolic
(10.43±0.64), tannin (844.05±5.36) and alkaloid (66.62±0.82) contents were present in
the methanolic extract of the seed coat. Also, the methanolic extract of the seed coat of S.
cumini showed the highest DPPH and ABTS antioxidant activities due to the lowest IC50
values (125.57±0.25 and 140.67±0.32), respectively. Based on these findings, the
methanolic extract of the seat coat of S. cumini showed the existence of medicinally
significant phytochemicals and antioxidant potential compared to other parts and it can
be used as a nutraceutical in future.
