Phytochemical profiles and concentrations of major antioxidative substances

Medicinal plants have been explored for the presence of phytochemicals and natural antioxidants for research and commercial utilization potentials. However, few studies were conducted on the selected medicinal plants' phytochemical profile and antioxidant contents. This study investigated the phytochemical profile, total phenolic, and total flavonoid contents of five methanolic leaf extracts of C. igneus, A. bilimbi, M. charantia, A. esculentus, and B. glabra. All five plants indicated the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, and alkaloids. A. bilimbi, M. charantia, A. esculentus, and B. glabra are potential sources of tannins. The total phenolic content of the extracts varied from 10.17±0.23 to 27.90±0.50 GAE/g. Whereas, the total flavonoid content of these plants ranges from 8.40±0.52 to 87.48±2.42 QE/g. The M. charantia leaves revealed the highest TPC while A. bilimbi yielded the highest TFC among the plants. The selected medicinal plants can be considered good sources of phytochemicals and natural antioxidants, phenolics, and flavonoids, which are the basis for the development and utilization of these plant leaves. The phytochemicals, phenolics, and flavonoids of these plants could be further isolated, purified, characterized, and utilized as antioxidants.