Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant): Phenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity

Abstract

Mimosa pudica L. has been used therapeutically for many generations, with good results in treating a variety of disorders. Due to its effectiveness and safety, natural product-based medicine continues to gain popularity. Using reflux extraction, Mimosa pudica was extracted with two different solvents, yielding two extracts, ethanolic extract and aqueous extract. It's chemical analysis reveals the presence of a number of substances, including alkaloids, coumarins, reducing sugars, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and terpenoids, through the in vitro bioassay phenomena results of color change and the development of precipitate or no precipitation. By using a UV/VIS Spectrophotometer to measure the absorbance of Mimosa pudica extract samples at different light wavelengths, the phenolic content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of the ethanolic and aqueous extraction were determined. The ethanol extract had a high amount of both polyphenols and flavonoids contents, which were 154.23 ± 8.38 (mgGAE/g) and 38.58 ± 3.31 (mgGAE/g), respectively. Similarly, the antioxidant capacity of ethanolic extract was better than aqueous extract. In other words, the IC50 value of ethanol extract was statistically significantly lower than that of aqueous extract. According to the DPPH assay, the IC50 values of Mimosa pudica extracted by water and alcohol were 182.55 ± 17.51 μg/mL and 54.21 ± 8.21 μg/mL, respectively.