Abstract

Phenolic compounds were identified in 30% ethanolic extracts derived from Phyllanthus niruri(P. niruri) and Phyllanthus urinaria (P. urinaria) using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay. In vitro antioxidants activity of the extracts was studied based on total phenolic contents (TPC) using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and their scavenging activity towards radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The HPLC results show that gallic acid (GA), corilagin (Cor) and ellagic acid (EA) were the major components of the extracts and their quantifications in P. niruri were 11.867  0.130, 89.579  0.602 and 37.309  0.033 mg/g of extract respectively and in P. urinaria were 8.710  0.091, 56.382  0.364 and 27.880  0.263 mg/g of extract. The TPC of P. niruri and P. urinaria were 262.10  1.04 and 277.98  1.04 mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of extract respectively and their scavenging based on IC50 was 32.64 and 25.00 g mass of the extract compared to the IC50 of references standards GA (3.28 g) and EA (2.99 g). The results revealed the extracts as a potential source of natural antioxidants that can be utilized in cosmetics as skin antiaging, sun-blocking and whitening agents. 

Key words: Corilagin, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)., ellagic acid, Folin-Ciocalteu, gallic acid.