The major function of bark in trees is to protect the living tissues. This is due to the chemical extractives in the bark such as polyphenols and terpenoids. In Indonesia, the bark of Pinus merkusii is of high economic value due to its use in the production of wood and oleoresins. Also, the presence of polyphenols in its bark has the potential of being used as antioxidant agents. Based on this, the aim of this study was to investigate antioxidant activity from the methanol extract of P. merkusii bark. This methanol extract of P. merkusii was subjected to gas chromatography mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method and antioxidant activity assay using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The GC-MS analysis showed that the extract sample contained phenolics and sugars as minor compounds with fatty acids and alcohols as major components. The antioxidant activity (IC50) of the sample was 1452.8 ± 208 μg/mL, which could be as a result of the presence of phenolic compounds, fatty acids and alcohols, as well as steroids and alkaloid in it.
This study aimed to investigate the polyphenol contents from the Pinus merkusii cone extract and their antioxidant activity. The cone powder (40 mesh) was extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol successively for six hours. The cone of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol soluble extracts was subjected to total tannin content, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant measurements. The polyphenol contents were measured through the colorimetric method, while antioxidant activity was observed by inhibition of the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method. The results showed that total tannin content, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of methanol soluble extract was higher than ethyl acetate and n-hexane soluble extracts. In this study, the high antioxidant activity of methanol soluble extract (IC50 of 196.73±13.93 ppm) might due to the high concentration of total phenol content (545.38±54.07 mg GAE/g sample). It was suggested that the P. merkusii cone is potential as the antioxidant source.
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