Borneo Journal of Pharmacy https://journal.umpr.ac.id/index.php/bjop/article/view/4350 Vol 6 Issue 2 May 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33084/bjop.v6i2.4350 Pages 133 – 146 e-ISSN: 2621-4814 How to cite: Sabandar CW, Kamaruddin HS, Insani RN, Amin RT, Zulkifli, Tien. Tentative Identification of Compounds, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activity of the Edible Part of Benincasa hispida L. Fruit (Cucurbitaceae). Borneo J Pharm. 2023;6(2):133-46. doi:10.33084/bjop.v6i2.4350 INTRODUCTION Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. is a herbaceous climber that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. It is one of the Cucurbitaceae crops known as wax gourd due to its white wax-covered fruit. The fruit's edible part (mesocarp) is white, spongy, and succulent. This part is the main part of the plant used by natives in making food 1 . In some countries like Malaysia, India, and China, the plant is traditionally used to treat coronary diseases, gastrointestinal tract problems, urinary tract and kidney stones problems, metabolism ailments, constipation, fever, diabetes, and obesity 2,3 . In Southeast Sulawesi, the plant is known by different vernacular names by locals, such as konduru (Bombana, Konawe, Baubau, Muna, Kolaka), kundur (Kendari), and sudeng (Bugis, Kolaka). Traditionally, the edible part of B. hispida fruit is processed as soup or juice and given orally to treat high blood pressure 4,5 , typhoid fever 6 , and for cooling the body. For daily food consumption, this part is processed as vegetable soups like sayur bening (clear soup) and sayur santan (coconut soup). Hence, based on medicinal uses and functional nutrition, the fruit of B. hispida is easy to find in local markets. Despite its traditional uses, studies on chemical compounds and biological activities of B. hispida from Southeast Sulawesi are still a handful, which only one report on antibacterial activity 7 . Hence, the current status of B. hispida emerges for further investigation. The present study evaluated the chemical compounds of the 80% ethanol extract of edible part of B. hispida Tentative Identification of Compounds, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activity of the Edible Part of Benincasa hispida L. Fruit (Cucurbitaceae) Carla Wulandari Sabandar 1* Harni Sartika Kamaruddin 1 Reskiya Nur Insani 1 Rana Triana Amin 1 Zulkifli 1 Tien 2 1 Department of Pharmacy, Universitas Sembilanbelas November Kolaka, Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia 2 Department of Biochemistry, Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia * email: carla@usn.ac.id Keywords: Antimicrobial Antioxidant Benincasa hispida Cucurbitaceae Wax gourd Abstract The edible part of Benicasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. fruit is traditionally used in Southeast Sulawesi to treat high blood pressure, typhoid fever, and body cooling. The present study evaluated the chemical compounds present in the 80% ethanol of the edible part of the plant using phytochemical screening and an LC- MS analysis, antioxidant activity based on assays on total phenolics content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC), and DPPH, and antimicrobial activity towards Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids, and saponins in the extract. As many as eighteen compounds (1-18) were tentatively identified in the extract, including sugars, a simple phenolic, a tricarboxylic acid, a peptide, flavonoids, quinic acid derivatives, phytosterols, triterpenoids, and saponins. The extract exhibited remarkable antioxidant activity with an SC50 value of 23.4 µg/mL, although its TPC (1.1±0.1 mg GAE/g extract) and TFC (1.0±0.1 mg QE/g extract) values were considered in low amounts. The extract was found inactive to inhibit the microbial growths of all tested microbes. However, raffinose (3) present in the extract might be beneficial as a prebiotic to promote a healthy human gut. The study concludes that the 80% ethanol extract of the edible part of B. hispida fruit could be used to develop natural antioxidant agents and nutraceuticals. Received: November 30 th , 2022 1 st Revised: April 30 th , 2023 Accepted: May 5 th , 2023 Published: May 31 th , 2023 © 2023 Carla Wulandari Sabandar, Harni Sartika Kamaruddin, Reskiya Nur Insani, Rana Triana Amin, Zulkifli, Tien. Published by Institute for Research and Community Services Universitas Muhammadiyah Palangkaraya. This is an Open Access article under the CC-BY-SA License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- sa/4.0/). DOI: https://doi.org/10.33084/bjop.v6i2.4350 Research Article