This study was conducted to isolate and identify the antioxidative compound from fruit extracts of Mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia L.). The extract was fractionated on a Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography using ethanol as eluate. Six major fractions were isolated according to UV absorption intensity of phenolic contents at 725 nm. Antioxidative activity of these fractions was evaluated in a ferric thiocyanate method (FTC) and thiobarbituric acid test (TBA). The antioxidative activities were then compared to that of α-tocopherol (natural antioxidant) and butylated hydroxytoulene or BHT (synthetic antioxidant). Results showed that all isolated fractions demonstrated high antioxidative activity compared to either BHT or α-tocopherol. Further separation of these fractions on a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure based on water-methanol gradient with trifluoreacetic acid (TFA) for simultaneous analysis of flavonoids, indicated that they contain several active compounds. The major flavonoids that have been detected in M. citrifolia are catechin and epicatechin.
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Zin et al. (2007) studied this question.