The anti-pancreatic lipase and antioxidant activity of Momordica charantia, Morinda citrifolia fruit, and Centella asiatica extract were evaluated for potential use as an anti-obesity agent. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhdrazyl and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assays. Inhibition of pancreatic lipase was measured in vitro. Results from this study showed that Momordica charantia, Morinda citrifolia fruit, and Centella asiatica extract exhibited different levels of antioxidant activity, with IC 50 ranging from 0.90 ± 0.1 to 3.7 ± 0.8 mg/mL of extracts. All extracts were found to inhibit pancreatic lipase activity, with Momordica charantia, Morinda citrifolia fruit, and Centella asiatica extract demonstrating 21.0 ± 1.3, 25.8 ± 0.1, and 25.3 ± 0.4% inhibition, respectively.

Centella asiatica is one of the vital plant sources of antioxidants properties for consumption or medicinal purposes. This study aimed to determine the effect of three different drying methods (freeze drying, oven drying and dehydration drying) on the antioxidant of leaves of C. asiatica. The antioxidant properties and IC50 value of different concentration of methanolic extract solution (0.5 mg/ml, 0.25 mg/ml, 0.125 mg/ml and 0.062 mg/ml), were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The drying conditions and time required for freeze drying, oven drying and dehydration drying were -45°C for 3 days, 60°C for 5 hours and 35-43°C within 1-3 hours, respectively. Samples with lower IC50 value showed a stronger antioxidant activity since low IC50 determine the efec. The freeze-dried of C. asiatica sample at 0.05 mg/ml concentration exhibited the highest scavenging activity (93.97 ± 0.45%) with the lowest IC50 value (0.05 mg/ml) whereas the lowest scavenging activity was shown by dehydration dried of C. asiatica sample at 0.05 mg/ml concentration (55.08 ± 0.03%) with the highest IC50 value (0.36 mg/ml). This indicates that as the concentration increases, the radical scavenging activity increases. Thus, it is highly recommended to use freeze drying as the method to conserve the maximum amount of antioxidant properties in C. asiatica leaves.