Phytochemical study of the plant species Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) and Croton floccosus (Euphorbiaceae) [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Given the chemical richness of medicinal plants ( Bidens pilosa L. and Croton floccosus) in Ecuador, they are considered the natural source of numerous medicines. Methods: The leaves were dried at 40°C and 50°C and the extracts were characterized by means of phytochemical screening, verifying the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, reducing sugars, phenols, flavonoids, tannins and saponins. Three extraction processes were carried out, with two solvents of different polarities: hexane and ethanol. The extraction methods that were applied to the leaves of the plants were Soxhlet, ultrasonic bath and maceration, the latter two at room temperature and Soxhlet at the boiling temperature of the solvent. Determination of the total content of phenols and flavonoids is carried out using the Follin-Ciocalteau colorimetric reaction, Quercetin standard, Aluminum Chloride solution measured with a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The antioxidant activity was performed with the DPPH radical and measured with the same equipment. Results: The highest content of total phenols obtained by employing the Soxhlet method for extraction when the material was dried at 50°C was 48.609 ± 0.370 mg GAE/g of dry sample for Bidens pilosa L. while in the case of Croton floccosus it was 128.212 ± 0.601 mg GAE/g of dry sample obtained from the extraction by means of maceration. Finally, the antioxidant activity against the 1.1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical was determined, and it was found that the Bidens pilosa L. species performed better and responded better to the test, with an IC 50 value of 239.33 µg/mL, than Croton floccosus (IC 50 of 644.125 µg/mL). Conclusions: The following preliminary phytochemical study of the Bidens pilosa L. and Croton floccosus plants provided important information on the content of secondary metabolites and response to the DPPH radical reported for the first time in Ecuador, which may be future use for medicinal application.