Preliminary Study: Vitamin C and Antioxidant IN Leaves

Abstract

Paederia foetida is an important perennial climbing medicinal herb native to eastern Asia. It is used as a remedy for diarrhea, dysentery, rheumatism and fever in Asia because the leaves are rich in carotene and vitamin C. Malay called this plant 'akar sekentut'and it is often eaten raw or steamed by local people rather than using it as traditional medicine. This preliminary study aims to determine the amount of vitamin c (ascorbic acid) and antioxidant (phenol) in local Paederia foetida. Parts used are the plant leaves, young leaves and mature leaves. The dried leaves were soaked in ethanol for 1 day at room temperature before being evaporated to obtain the extract. Then, high performance liquid chromatography analysis has been used to analyze the samples. Results obtained show amount of vitamin C in mature leaves is higher than young leaves with 66 ppm and 64 ppm respectively but amount of antioxidant (phenol) are not detected. This shows that, paederia foetida consist considerable high amount of vitamin C and more study should be done on this local species to investigate chemical active compounds with biological function potential.