Chemical extractives of Vernonia arborea bark and their bioactivities

Kawui tree or Vernonia arborea is a lesser-known woody species, originated from Kalimantan Island, Indonesia. It is one of the potential materials for pulp and paper, which produces high bark residue. Furthermore, its rich background as folklore medicines suggested the medicinal properties of V. arborea. This study aims to explore the chemical extractives of V. arborea bark and their bioactivities. The bark samples were successfully extracted using n-hexane, methanol (MeOH), and hot water. The n-hexane and MeOH extractives were investigated through GC-MS. For all the fractions, the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and antifungal activity were evaluated using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) inhibition method, brine shrimp test, and Phanerochaete chrysosporium attacks, respectively. The MeOH extract showed higher extractive content than the other fractions. The antifungal activity and cytotoxicity were higher in the n-hexane extract. Furthermore, the high antioxidant activity was observed in MeOH extract. The highest of those activities correlate with the presence of alkaloids detected by GC-MS. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Indian Academy of Wood Science 2024.