GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY STUDY OF N-HEXANE AND CHLOROFORM FRACTIONS OF ETHANOL EXTRACT OF MELASTOMA MALABATHRICUM L. LEAVES: AN IN VITRO STUDY OF ANTIOXIDANT AND SPF VALUES

Objective: This research aimed to qualitatively determine the chemical compound constituents, antioxidant capacity, and sun protection factor (SPF) value of extract of the leaves of Melastoma malabathricum L. using GC-MS. Methods: The detected compounds were identified by processing the raw GC-MS data using ChemStation software and comparing results with the NIST mass spectral database. Antioxidant capacity was measured using 1,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The SPF contained in the n-hexane and chloroform fractions separated from the ethanol extract of the leaves of Melastoma malabathricum L was identified. Results: The GC-MS test results revealed that 21 and 29 peaks of separation occurred in the n-hexane and chloroform fractions. The highest peak values are hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (a fatty acid group also known as palmitic acid) (100%) in the n-hexane and chloroform fractions. The highest chemical content in n-hexane and chloroform fractions was obtained at 20 min. The thin-layer chromatography (TLC) results indicated that the n-hexane and chloroform fractions contained steroid and terpenoid compounds. The antioxidant capacity test using DPPH showed that the n-hexane and chloroform fractions of ethanol extract of the leaves of Melastoma malabathricum L had IC50 values ​​of 49.2±7.9 g/ml and 11.3±3.65 g/ml, respectively. Using FRAP, the IC50 values ​​of the n-hexane and chloroform fractions were identified as 365.2±133.6 g/ml and 80.8±8.9 g/ml, respectively, categorizing them as strong and weak antioxidants. SPF testing produced SPF values ​​for the n-hexane and chloroform fractions of ethanol extract of Melastoma malabathricum L leaves of 11.7±0.1 and 21±0.4, respectively. Conclusion: The study results show that the antioxidant activity and the SPF values of the chloroform fraction are greater than those of the n-hexane fraction. In conclusion, the n-hexane and chloroform fractions are found to have antioxidant properties in the weak and solid categories and the ability to protect against sunlight in the vulnerable category.