Antioxidant activity of methanol extract of Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) Sw. leaves collected from Aceh

Abstract

Cell damage mediated by free radicals is one of the main causes of many dangerous diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, rheumatism, cataracts, aging, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, Parkinson, Alzheimer and neurodegenerative diseases. The prevention of dangerous diseases caused by free radicals can be done by developing raw materials for natural antioxidant drugs that can reduce free radicals by giving one of their electrons to produce neutral molecules that are not harmful to the human body, such as fern (Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) Sw.). D. esculentum collected from Aceh was extracted in methanol. The antioxidant activity of this extract was determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity assay. The result showed very good activity of the DPPH antiradical efficiency of methanol extract of D. esculentum with IC50 values of 123.958 ppm. Based on phytochemical screening, D. esculentum contained polyphenol compounds that have good activity as antioxidant. This result indicated that D. esculentum has potential as antioxidant and can be applied in the development of new medicines.