Spectrophotometric determination of sun protective factor (SPF) and antioxidant potential of different solvent extracts of graptophyllum pictum

Abstract

Natural substances extracted from plants have been gaining attraction as protective agents due to their safety and responsible for multiple biological effects on skins. The present study was to determine the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, Sun Protection Factor (SPF), and antioxidant potential of different solvent extracts of Graptophyllum pictum leaves. The dried powdered leaves were extracted by the cold maceration method, using three different solvents, i.e., methanol, ethanol, and water. The extracted leaves was tested for antioxidant activity using of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl). Total phenolic content was determined using the Follin-Ciocalteu and for total flavonoid content with used the aluminium chloride. The SPF of all extracts were analyzed by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry. The total phenolic content is the highest in methanol extract (377.61±0.31 µg/ml), and total flavonoid content is the highest in ethanol extract (158.06 ± 0.18 µg/ml). For DPPH free radical scavenging activity, ethanolic extract showed the maximum percentage of inhibition, and for SPF, methanol extract had displayed the highest. The study recommends that methanol is a good solvent for the extraction of sun-protective constituents from G. pictum.