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The selection of appropriate solvents in the extraction process plays a crucial role in determining the nature and quantity of secondary metabolites extracted from medicinal plants. This study investigates the impact of solvent polarity on the extraction yield, phenolic content, and antioxidant properties of seeds from four plants belonging to the Malvaceae family: Abutilon fruticosum, Abutilon pannosum, Sida ovata and Malvastrum coromendelianum. The seed powder of each species was subjected to extraction using solvents with varying polarities, including acetone, chloroform, methanol, and water. Physicochemical analysis, extraction yield, quantitative phenolic content, and antioxidant activity were assessed. Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, and antioxidant activity was measured using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the choice of extracting solvents significantly influenced (p < 0.05) extraction yield, phenolic content, and antioxidant properties. In conclusion, water and methanol emerged as the most effective solvents for achieving high extraction yields, phenolic compound content, and free radical scavenging activities. The results demonstrated a robust correlation between total phenolic content (mg of Gallic acid equivalent/g of sample) and free radical scavenging activity (IC50). The study highlights the substantial impact of solvent type, suggesting the potential benefits of using a combination of polar and nonpolar solvents to enhance the extraction efficiency of phytochemicals, phenolic content and antioxidant quality from medicinal plant seeds. Future investigations should focus on isolating and identifying active secondary metabolites from these extracts.
Ghaffar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.