Phytochemicals screening and anti-oxidant activity of hydroethanolic extracts of Ruellia tuberosa L

Ruellia tuberosa L also known as pletekan, pletikan, or ciplukan, is a plant that is found in almost in every region in Indonesia. Assessment of the antioxidant activities of crude hydroethanolic extracts of R. tuberosa L. root was carried out to investigate their medicinal properties. The dried roots of R. tuberosa L were extracted using maceration technique, with ethanol and water, in 1:1 ratio. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, triterpenoids, steroids, ascorbic acids, and phenolic compounds in those extracts. The chemical compositions of the extracts were analyzed by targeted LC-MS, showed presence of phytosterol compounds, representing about 60% of the extracts. The principal components identified included stigmasterol, campesterol, and β-sitosterol. These were also supported by results from FTIR spectroscopy that indicated the functional groups of the typical phytosterol compounds. In vitro antioxidant study using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging assay showed that the crude hydroethanolic extracts expressed high free radical scavenging activity with the IC50 value of 2.48 μg/mL. In a similar test, vitamin C was used for a reference, and has resulted in the IC50 value of 3.18 μg/mL. Conclusively, the hydroethanolic roots extracts of R. tuberosa L. could be considered a remedy for diseases which are associated with free radicals.