Total phenolic and flavonoid content of medicinal plants from papua: Uncovering their pharmacological activities.

Indonesian biodiversity is enriched by the numerous medicinal plants, including those growing on the island of Papua. We review the pharmacological potency of several medicinal plants from Papua by determining the total phenolic and flavonoid content from ethanol extracts. Several parts were used from Sphaerostephanos sp (leaves), Albizia procera (Roxb) Benth (leaves, stem, and roots), Carica papaya L (leaves), Bideris pilosa L (leaves), Cymbopogonicitratus (DC) (leaves), Annona muricata L (leaves (Anne)), Macaranga tanarius Muell Arg (leaves), and Premna sp (eaves). Total phenolic content was estimated using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, while the flavonoid content was measured using the common colorimetric method. The current study indicates that Sphaerostephanos sp. has the highest flavonoid content (26.118 ± 0.160 mg quercetin equivalents/g dried extract). At the same time, the leaves of Carica papaya L and stem of Albizia procera (Roxb) Benth contain the highest phenolic content (15.410 ± 9.269 and 15.410 ± 0.978 gallic acid equivalents/ g dried extract, respectively). The results presented here indicate that plants from Papua have pharmacological properties, and may be related to the flavonoid and phenolic content. The potency of Albizia procera L., Annona muricata L., Bidens pilosa L., Carica papaya L., Macaranga tanarius L., Sphaerostephanos unitus (L). Holttum, Premna integrifolia L., Premna fulva Craib, and Premna integrifolia as complementary medicines derived from ethnopharmacology and scientific literature requires further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]