Microwave-assisted extraction and phytochemical analysis of Peperomia pellucida for treatment of dengue

Abstract

Dengue is a fatal mosquito-borne disease which is spreading at an alarming rate and it is endemic in many tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. To date, no effective antiviral or vaccine is available for this chronic disease. Peperomia pellucida is a plant that can be found in tropical countries and it has demonstrated positive results against some chronic diseases due to the presence of phenolic compounds. As many herbal for dengue have been proven to possess high phenolic content, this plant is deemed as another alternative for dengue remedy. Solvent extraction can be used as an efficient method to collect the extract from this plant with high bioactivity. Microwave-Assisted Extraction (MAE) is a "green technology" solvent extraction method which is still quite unconventional. In this work, extraction of peperomia pellucida leaves using MAE was carried out to investigate the effect of extraction time (5 - 25 min) and temperature (65-145 °C) on the extraction yield and total phenolic content (TPC). Furthermore, the phytochemical analysis in 10 extracts was performed by spectrophotometer in order to know its total phenolic content. The results show that temperature of 145 °C and extraction time of 15 min were the best extraction conditions. Temperature and extraction time have been shown to be potential factors in affecting MAE for obtaining bioactive compounds from Peperomia pellucida. The identification of the concentration of phenolic compound in the extracts of Peperomia pellucida leaves warrants further pharmacological studies on this species.