Comparative Analysis of Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Efficacy in Coccinia indica Leaf and Fruit Extracts

Abstract

Introduction: Naturally present small plants have an enormous amount of free radical neutralising chemicals that protect them from various lifestyle diseases. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the antioxidant potential, phytochemical composition, and LC-MS profiles of ethanol extracts obtained from the leaves and fruits of Coccinia indica. Materials and Methods: Leaves and fruits of C. indica were subjected to Soxhlet extraction using ethanol as the solvent. The antioxidant activity of the crude extracts was measured using the free radical reactive chemical DPPH, with ascorbic acid employed as a reference standard. Preliminary phytochemical screening was conducted to identify the bioactive constituents. Results: The IC₅₀ values for the ethanolic extracts of C. indica leaves and fruits were 495.4 and 506.6 μg/mL. The leaf extract exhibited more potent antioxidant activity than the fruit extract. Plant chemical identification confirmed that the leaf extract has good antioxidant compounds. The fruit extract was found to contain alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, phenols, amino acids, carbohydrates, and steroids. Conclusion: Both leaf and fruit extracts of C. indica demonstrated notable antioxidant activity, likely due to various phytochemicals including phenols, alkaloids, tannins, and saponins. These findings suggest that C. indica is a good source of bioactive antioxidants and warrants further investigation for its pharmacological applications.