Chemical characterization and antioxidant activity of Hura crepitans L. leaves

Hura crepitans L. belongs to the family of Euphorbiaceae and it showed many ethnomedicinal applications; the bark extract was used to treat leprosy, eczema and in warfare. Recently a wide range of therapeutic applications of the leaves, stem bark of this plant were reported including astringent, emollient and strong purgative actions, dermatological uses, fungicidal, antimicrobial [1, 2]. The purpose of this study is to increase scientific knowledge on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of leaves of H. crepitans L. Dried leaves were extracted by different methods: infusion, decoction, maceration by using water as solvent, and sequential extraction by using n-hexane, chloroform, choloform-MeOH 9.1, MeOH was carried out. MeOH extract was partitioned by water and butanol. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was measured by different in-vitro cellfree assays along with the total polyphenolic content and Relative Antioxidant Capacity Index (RACI) was calculated [3]. Aqueous extracts reported the highest RACI values and then, they were tested for the evaluation of cell viability and ROS-protective effect on Hepg2 cell line [4]. The aqueous extracts showed no cytotoxic activity on HepG2 cells, but they suppressed ROS production induced by H2O2. The antioxidant activity could be due to the chemical composition performed by LC-ESI/LTQOrbitrap/MS [5]. Fourteen compounds were identified as caffeic acid, gallic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, syringic acid, epigallocatechin, rutin, isoquercetin, quercetin, myricetin, epicatechin, naringin, luteolin, resveratrol and ferulic acid. Our findings suggest the Hura crepitans leaves could be used as nutraceuticals in food preparations.