Antioxidant activities of different solvent extracts of Piper retrofractum Vahl. using DPPH assay

Piper retrofractum Vahl., which belongs to the family Piperaceae, is geographically dispersed in tropical region including Indonesia. They are well-known spice possessing high medicinal properties. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity of P. retrofractum fruit, extracted with different solvents (methanol, ethyl acetate, n-hexane) using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. This research was carried out using different concentrations of methanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane extracts, (0, 5, 15, 30, 45, 60 ppm). Ascorbic acid was also used as positive antioxidant control. The percentage of inhibition and IC50 were measured. The results showed that the DPPH free radicals were scavenged by all plant extracts in a concentration dependent manner. Moreover, the IC50 values for DPPH radicals with methanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane extract of the P. retrofractum Vahl. were found to be 101.74; 66.12 and 57.66 ppm, respectively. Interestingly, the IC50 value of n-hexane extract (57.66 ppm) was lower than ascorbic acid (66.12 ppm), indicating that n-hexane extract was a more potent scavenger of free radicals than methanol and ethyl acetate extracts. Taken together, our results suggested that n-hexane extract of P. Retrofractum Vahl. might contain potential antioxidant compounds.