Natural Products Society of the Philippines Oral Paper Presentation OP-06 Tongco et. al. (2013). Phytochemical Screening, Total Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity of the Philippine bamboo "Buho" (Schizostachyum lumampao). Abstract. Proceedings of the 18th Annual Convention of the Natural Products Society of the Philippines. De La Salle University - Manila, December 6, 2013. ISSN: 2094-375X Phytochemical Screening, Total Phenolic Content, and Antioxidant Activity of the Philippine bamboo "Buho" (Schizostachyum lumampao) Jovale Vincent V. Tongco 1 *, Ramon A. Razal 1 , Ronald Arlet P. Villaber 1 , Marjhun A. Ricarte 1 , Sharleen M. Lobos 1 1 University of the Philippines Los Baños College, Los Baños, Laguna 4031 Philippines Email: * jvvtongco@uplb.edu.ph Abstract This study is a pioneering attempt to undertake phytochemical screening and determine the total phenolic content of a native bamboo species in the Philippines. The bamboo species chosen is buho (Schizostachyum lumampao), a clump-forming, erect bamboo species which grows extensively in most Northern Luzon provinces and which has adapted well in Laguna and adjacent Southern Tagalog provinces. The absence of available data on the phytochemical composition of locally-grown bamboos had prompted the present work. The aim of the study is to analyze the phytochemical components, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity of "buho" extracts from the leaves. Air-dried bamboo leaves were either macerated using 80% ethanol in water (ethanolic) or a decoction (aqueous) was prepared. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts were subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening as described by Harborne 1 and Tiwari 2 . Natural products belonging to saponins, diterpenes, triterpenes, phenols, tannins, and flavonoids were shown to be present in both the ethanolic and aqueous extracts. However, phytosterols were only found in the ethanolic extract. Determination of the total phenolic and flavonoid content of buho leaves was done using Folin- Ciocalteu reagent (FCR) at 725 nm via UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The total phenolic content in gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per 100 g dried sample, was 76.72±9.06 for the ethanolic extract and 13.48± 4.12 for the aqueous extract. The total flavonoid content in quercetin equivalent (QE), were 70.24±7.52 and 17.86±3.41 mg QE/100g dried sample for the ethanolic and aqueous extracts, respectively. The antioxidant activity of different concentrations of buho ethanolic extract was determined using the DOPH (2,2-Di(4-tert-octylphenyl)-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging activity (FRSA) assay. The absorbance at 531 nm of resulting solutions after incubation in the dark for 30 minutes was obtained via UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The %FRSA values for the ethanolic extracts were 51.27±1.50, 52.33±3.00, 54.98±0.75, 56.57±1.50 and 50.21±0.00 for 10, 50, 100, 200 and 400 ppm, respectively. Gallic acid was used as standard, which yielded corresponding %FRSA values of 56.57, 59.75, 67.16, 70.34 and 73.52 for 10, 50, 100, 200 and 400 ppm, respectively. This preliminary study shows the significant amount of phenolics present in buho and its antioxidant activity, which may lead to further studies and analysis specific to phenolics in bamboo. Keywords: Phytochemical screening, phenolics, bamboo, antioxidants References 1. Harborne, J.B. Phytochemical methods: A guide to modern techniques of plant analysis. 3 rd edition. New York. Chapman and Hall. 1998. 279 2. Tiwari, P., Kumar, B., Kaur, M., Kaur, G., & Kaur, H. Phytochemical Screening and Extraction: A Review. Internationale Pharmaceutica Sciencia, 1(1), 2011. 98–106.