ISSN: 2474-8846
Authors: Ch’ng HY* and Binti Nordin NNA
Plants are the major sources for the production of natural products. Nowadays, demand of natural products is increasing since it can be as source of drug production, foods, cosmetic and agriculture industries. This is due to bioactive compound, naturally chemical compound generated from the plants, called phytochemical. Phytochemicals can be found in wide range of plant components as in the roots, stems, leaves and seeds that provide health benefits for human health. The Melinjo fruit (Gnetum gnemon L.) is perennial and an evergreen tree, native to Southeast Asia and has been planted around the world, primarily for its wonderful fruits. According to the recent research, it has revealed that each part of the Melinjo fruit gives beneficial to humans due to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-diabetic properties. Furthermore, it is reported that phytochemicals such as saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, quinones, and phenolic compounds have been found in Melinjo fruit (Gnetum gnemon L.). Thus, this study was performed to analyse the phytochemical content of Melinjo fruit seeds and seed coats using various extraction solvents in order to know whether it can be used for beneficial purposes. In this research, cold maceration extraction was applied to prepare the plant extract and qualitative screening of phytochemicals in Melinjo fruit was carried out. The result present that both seed and seed coat of Gnetum gnemon L. contain phytochemicals. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that methanol was the most effective solvent to extract majority of phytochemical classes. Thus, Gnetum gnemon L. appears to be useful to human health. It should therefore be investigated to determine whether it may be safely used in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries to improve people's health condition.
Keywords: Plant; Natural Product; Phytochemical; Melinjo fruit (Gnetum gnemon L.)
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