Phytochemical and antioxidant activity evaluation of the bark of Tampoi ( Baccaurea macrocarpa).

Background: Tampoi ( Baccaurea macrocarpa) is a tropical rainforest plant that produces edible fruit and is native to Southeast Asia, especially East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Previous research showed that Tampoi potentially can be developed as a drug. It was reported that the extract of Tampoi fruit displayed antioxidant activity, which was correlated with its phenolic and flavonoid substances. There is no information about the antioxidant activity of other parts of this plant, such as the bark, which might also have this kind of activity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical, toxicity, and antioxidant activity of the bark of Tampoi. Methods : The bark of Tampoi was extracted with methanol and concentrated using rotary evaporator to obtain the methanol extract of the bark. Secondary metabolites of this extract was determined using phytochemical analysis. Afterward, the methanol extract was tested for its toxicity using brine shrimp lethality test and antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method. Results: Phytochemical evaluation results showed that the methanol extract of bark of this plant contains several secondary metabolites including alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, steroids, and triterpenoids. The toxicity test displayed no toxic property due to a LC ₅₀ value above 1000 ppm. For antioxidant activity, the result exhibited that the methanol extract of bark of this plant could be categorized as an active extract with IC ₅₀ value of 11.15 ppm. Moreover, based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometer analysis, there are 37 isolated compounds from the bark, one of which is methylparaben, a phenolic predicted to act as an antioxidant. Conclusion : The results obtained in this research demonstrated that the bark of Tampoi ( B. macrocarpa) has potential as an antioxidant.