Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anticoagulation Activity of Piper chaba Hunter Stem

Piper chaba Hunter, a flowering vine of the Piperaceae family, has long been used in South Asian countries for culinary purposes and traditionally in fat-rich meat preparation. The curative potential of this herb is of great interest to be studied.

The antioxidant and anticoagulation potential, as well as total phenolic and flavonoid content, were evaluated using cold and boiled water extract separately from the dried and ground stem.

Antioxidant potential was evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The anticoagulation activity was evaluated by serine protease inhibition assay and prothrombin time (PT) assay. Folin–Ciocalteu (FC) reagent and aluminum complex (AlCl3) were used to assess total phenolic content and total flavonoid content, respectively.

DPPH scavenging assay revealed the IC50 value of 125.52 µg.mL-1 and 157.94 µg.mL-1 for boiled and cold water extract, respectively. Potent ferric reducing potential (FRAP) was observed as 142.87 µM and 135.37 µM of ferrous equivalent per 100 µg for boiled and cold water extract, respectively. The IC50 value of serine protease inhibitory activity was found as 182 µg.mL-1 and 161.12 µg.mL-1 for cold and boiled water extract, respectively. The PT time was 27.00 min for boiled water extract and 24.68 min for cold water extract. Significant phenolic and flavonoid content was also found in the test sample.

P. chaba stem extract possesses potent antioxidant and anticoagulation activity, which can neutralize oxidative free radicals and have a vasodilation effect in oxidative and inflammatory diseases.