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. 2022 Jun 27:11:702.
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.112653.2. eCollection 2022.

Phytochemical study of the plant species Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) and Croton floccosus (Euphorbiaceae)

Enrique Ruiz-Reyes  1 , Mayte Ariana Mendoza-Cevallos  2 , Ana Patricia Polanco-Moreira  2 , Diego Germán Segovia-Cedeño  3 , Ulbio Eduardo Alcivar-Cedeño  4 , Alex Dueñas-Rivadeneira  5
Affiliations

Phytochemical study of the plant species Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) and Croton floccosus (Euphorbiaceae)

Enrique Ruiz-Reyes et al. F1000Res. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Asteraceae; Bidens pilosa L; Croton floccosus; Euphorbiaceae; extraction; flavonoids; phenols; phytochemical study.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing interests were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Map with the collection points of the studied species.
Image obtained from Google Maps.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. ANOVA graph for the influence of factors on the extraction performance of Bidens pilosa L.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Comparison of Tukey's means for yields of Bidens pilosa L. extracts according to drying temperature.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Comparison of Tukey means for yields of Bidens pilosa L. extracts according to the extraction process.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.. ANOVA graph for the influence of factors on the extraction yield of Croton floccosus.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.. Comparison of Tukey means for yields of Croton floccosus extracts according to drying temperature.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.. Comparison of Tukey means for yields of Croton floccosus extracts according to the extraction method.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.. Comparison of Tukey means for yields of extracts of Bidens pilosa L. and Croton floccosus according to the solvent used.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.. Phenolic content of the different ethanolic extracts of Bidens pilosa L.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.. Phenolic content of the different ethanolic extracts of Croton floccosus.
Figure 11.
Figure 11.. Total flavonoid content of the different ethanolic extracts of Bidens pilosa.
Figure 12.
Figure 12.. Total flavonoid content of the different ethanolic extracts of Croton floccosus.
Figure 13.
Figure 13.. Antioxidant activity equivalent to Trolox of the different extracts of Bidens pilosa L.
Figure 14.
Figure 14.. Antioxidant activity equivalent to Trolox of Croton floccosus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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