QUALITATIVE SECONDARY METABOLITE AND FT-IR PROFILES OF THE METHANOLIC EXTRACT FROM Muntingia calabura L. LEAVES

Abstract

The kersen plant (Muntingia calabura L.), which grows wildly in Aceh Province, particularly in the city of Banda Aceh, receives little attention from the public because most people are unaware of the benefits of the kersen leaf. In general, kersen leaf extract can be used to treat a variety of diseases, as a health maintenance supplement, and most notably as an anti-diabetic medication. The objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition of kersen leaf extract as an anti-diabetic bioactive substance using thin-layer chromatography and a Fourier transform infrared spectrum. The stages and research techniques were carried out by maceration method using an ethanol solvent, followed by phytochemical testing of organic components in kersen leaf ethanol extract using a TLC method utilizing n-hexane: ethyl acetate (5:5) eluent, and finally, the identification of the kersen ethanol extract was conducted using FT-IR. Based on the phytochemical screening result using thin layer chromatography, the sample with the addition of NaOH and FeCl3 reagents gave distinct colors, namely reddish orange yellow and blackish blue, which revealed that the chemical compounds were dominated in kersen leaf are flavonoid and phenolic. This is also supported by the presence of broad peak spectra for the O-H group, as well as sharp peak spectra for the C-H group of flavonoid and phenolic compounds, at wave numbers 3408 cm-1 and 2372 cm-1, respectively. Flavones, flavanol, Auron, and phenol compounds are the specific flavonoid and phenolic chemical compounds found in kersen leaves.