Vol 13, Issue 2, 2020 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOUNDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF YELLOW VELVETLEAF FRUIT (LIMNOCHARIS FLAVA) EXTRACT ACE BAEHAKI*, SHANTI DWITA LESTARI, NORYATI SIREGAR Study Program of Fisheries Product Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sriwijaya University, Indralaya, South Sumatera, Indonesia. Email: abaehaki.unsri@gmail.com Received: 21 October 2019, Revised and Accepted: 10 December 2019 ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this research was to observe the content of phytochemical compound and antioxidant activity of yellow velvetleaf fruit (Limnocharis flava) extract. Methods: Research consisted of several stages, including sampling, sample preparation, sample extraction, calculation of yield extract, phytochemical analysis (flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, saponins, and triterpenoids), and antioxidant activity assessment using 2’,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and iron-reducing power method. Results: The n-hexane and methanol extract contained flavonoids, saponins, and triterpenoids, while flavonoids and triterpenoids were detected on ethyl acetate extract. The IC 50 of yellow velvetleaf extract with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol was 3321.67 ppm, 1439.24 ppm, and 96.0 ppm, respectively. The methanol extract had the highest iron-reducing power with the average absorbance of 0.588 followed by the ethyl acetate extract with the average absorbance of 0.195 and n-hexane extract had lowest with the average absorbance of 0.171. Keywords: Antioxidant, Phytochemical, Reducing ability, Yellow velvetleaf fruit. INTRODUCTION Natural antioxidants have been found to be useful not only in the body defense system against reactive oxygen species but also in managing the oxidative stress caused by several diseases such as diabetes [1]. A number of plants have significant antioxidant activity due to the presence of certain natural products responsible for scavenging the excess free radicals from the system [2]. Research on bioactive compounds that have been carried out in aquatic plants was swamp plant (Nymphaea stellata, Nelumbo nucifera, and Eleocharis dulcis) and seagrasses (Halodule uninervis and Halodule pinifolia) [2-7]. Yellow velvetleaf (Limnocharis flava) is a plant that grows in bogs or muddy pool that much water. Yellow velvetleaf (L. flava) is native to tropical and subtropical regions of America [8]. Leaves and flowers of yellow velvetleaf were efficacious as an appetite enhancer. Besides consumed, yellow velvetleaf used as environment (eliminating pollution in the water) and livestock [9]. Fresh yellow velvetleaf leaves contained total carotenoid (219.01 μg/g), protein (22.96%), fat (7.95%), ash (12.4%), water content (91.76%), and fiber (11.93%) [10]. Yellow velvetleaf has high content of total carotenoid and bioactive compounds [11]. METHODS Preparation of extraction Swamp plants (yellow velvetleaf) before extraction are carried out beforehand, the preparation is done, namely: Swamp plants are washed with running water to remove foreign objects (stones, sand, seashells, and so on). Then, drying is done using sunlight for 4 days until the water content is <10%. study is a multilevel extraction method. Stage 1 is done with n-hexane (nonpolar) solvent for 2×24 h. Stage 2 is carried out with ethyl acetate (semipolar) solvent for 2×24 h. Stage 3 is done with 70% ethanol solvent (polar) for 2×24 h. The extraction stage was as follows: Swamp plant powder was weighed 250 g and put into Erlenmeyer, then a solvent was added until the final volume reached 1000 ml with a ratio of 1: 5 (w/v), extracted by multilevel maceration using n-hexane (nonpolar) solvent, ethyl acetate (semipolar), and 70% ethanol (polar), respectively, for 2×24 h, 3 times the extraction. The extract obtained from all three types of solvent was concentrated with rotary evaporator, except ethyl acetate solvent. Extracts with ethyl acetate solvent are dried in a fume hood. Phytochemical test Phytochemical tests were carried out to determine whether there were bioactive components found in swamp plants (yellow velvetleaf). Phytochemical analysis carried out included flavonoids, alkaloids, triterpenoids and steroids, and saponins. The analytical method used is based on Harborne [12]. Antioxidant activity Testing of antioxidant activity using the 2’,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method refers to Hanani et al. [13], namely: DPPH solution was made with a concentration of 1 mM (0.0197 mg DPPH in 50 ml of methanol). The crude extract of water hyacinth flower is made in various concentrations, namely, 50 ppm, 100 ppm, 250 ppm, 500 ppm, and 1000 ppm. The methanol solution without extract is used as a blank. The extract solution and blank solution were made; each of 4 ml was reacted with 1 ml of DPPH 1 mM solution in a test tube. The mixture was homogenized with vortex and then incubated at 37°C for 30 min, then measured the absorbance using a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 517 nm. The results of measuring the absorbance of the solution are used to calculate the percentage of radical capture and IC 50 . © 2020 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4. 0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2020.v13i2.36136 Research Article Conclusion: The best solvent to extract the yellow velvetleaf and have highest antioxidant activity was methanol solvent. Extraction Yellow velvetleaf (L. flava) which has been prepared then extraction process is carried out. The extraction method carried out in this