Phytochemical Analysis And Antioxidant Potential Of Ethyl Acetate Extract Of Stylosanthes Hamata (L.) Taub.

Abstract

Plants have been used in traditional medicine since ancient times and are now an integral part of modern scientific therapeutics. This study evaluated the phytochemical constituents, antioxidant capacity, and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) profile of the ethyl acetate extract from Stylosanthes hamata (L.) Taub. Qualitative analysis detected the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, glycosides, steroids, carbohydrates, proteins, reducing sugars, and starch, while saponins were absent. Quantitative measurements indicated the extract contained alkaloids (36.3 ± 0.04 mg/g), flavonoids (88.2 ± 0.04 mg/g), tannins (62.46 ± 0.04 mg/g), phenols (38.1 ± 0.01 mg/g), terpenoids (20.23 ± 0.04  mg/g),  glycosides  (22.86 ± 0.04  mg/g),  steroids  (2.28 ± 0.02  mg/g), carbohydrates (60.23 ± 0.04 mg/g), proteins (96.6 ± 0.04 mg/g), reducing sugars (2.83 ± 0.009 mg/g), and starch (27.43 ± 0.04 mg/g). The antioxidant evaluation demonstrated significant activity, with the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay showing an IC50 value of 106.13 μg/mL and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay an IC50 value of 133.03 μg/mL, using ascorbic acid as the standard. These findings highlight the potential of S. hamata as a valuable source of natural antioxidants.