Effect of solvent polarity on total phenolics, flavonoids and DPPH radical scavenging activity of Cynodon dactylon leaf extracts: ATR-FTIR characterization
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55779/nsb18212874Keywords:
antioxidant activity, ATR-FTIR, Cynodon dactylon, phenolic compounds, principal component analysisAbstract
This study investigated the impact of solvent polarity on the recovery of phenolic and flavonoid-related constituents, as well as the antioxidant response, in Cynodon dactylon leaf extracts. Leaves collected in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) were dried, ground, and extracted by maceration (72 h) using three polar solvents: ethanol, methanol, and water (aqueous). Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were measured by the Folin–Ciocalteu and AlCl₃ colorimetric methods, respectively. Antioxidant activity was assessed by the DPPH assay and expressed as IC₅₀. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was used to compare functional-group fingerprints among extracts, and PCA was applied to explore relationships among TPC, TFC, and IC50. The extraction solvent had a significant influence on all indices. Ethanol gave the highest TPC (1.774 ± 0.027 mg GAE/g DW) and the highest TFC (0.829 ± 0.010 mg QE/g DW), while methanol produced very low TPC (0.815 ± 0.032 mg GAE/g DW). The ethanol extract also showed the strongest DPPH scavenging activity (lowest IC₅₀: 1.748 ± 0.185 mg/mL), followed by methanol (3.783 ± 0.286 mg/mL) and the aqueous extract (7.494 ± 0.347 mg/mL). PCA explained 99.87 % of the variance with PC1 (72.99 %) and PC2 (26.88 %), separating the three solvents and highlighting an inverse direction between TFC and IC50. ATR-FTIR spectra showed solvent-dependent fingerprints, with a broad O–H band (~3343 cm⁻¹) prominent in the aqueous extract and clearer aliphatic C–H stretching (3000–2800 cm⁻¹) in the organic extracts. These results support rational solvent selection for antioxidant-oriented applications of C. dactylon extracts.
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