Screening for high kaempferol content in different species of Malaysian medicinal plants

Abstract

Kaempferol is a natural flavonol and has been reported to reduce risk of pancreatic cancer and protect against heart disease. Kaempferol also acts as antioxidant that prevents oxidative damage to cell, lipids and DNA. The purpose of this study was to determine kaempferol distribution in the leaves of 20 Malaysian medicinal plants using GC–FID. Results demonstrated that kaempferol was only detected in eight plant species. Of all plants tested, Tibouchina semidecandracontained the highest kaempferol concentration. Further assessment showed that mature leaf extracts of T. Semidecandra had more kaempferol (4689.75±654.83mg kg–1) than young leaf extracts (1945.04±138.81mg kg–1). However, no kaempferol was detected in shoot extracts. These findings suggest that kaempferol content depends on plant species and physiological state of the plant organs. Thus, T. semidecandra could be an alternative source of kaempferol.