ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-MDR MICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF RED GINGER AND BETEL LEAF COMBINATIONS WAS DRIVEN BY PHENOLIC CONTENTS
A combination of red ginger and betel leaf is widely used in Baturraden, Indonesia, to treat masuk angin. This studyaimed to standardize and characterise volatile oil constituents of red ginger and betel leaf crude drugs, and determinethe antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of their extracts and oils. Crude drug quality was assessed in accordancewith Indonesian Herbal Pharmacopoeia (IHP) specifications. Volatile oils were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Volatile oils and ethanol extracts were prepared in five combinations with variedratios. Antioxidant activity was determined using standard total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the microdilution method. All crude drugs met IHPqualitystandards. Red ginger oil was dominated by camphene, eucalyptol, and zingiberene, whereas betel leaf oil primarilycontained β-selinene, eugenol, and curlone. Extract’s antioxidant activity varied with red ginger-betel leaf ratio, withFormula A yielding the highest activity. TFC of the extracts correlated moderately with DPPH scavenging activityand strongly with FRAP. Volatile oils weakly inhibited both multidrug-resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus andCandida albicans, while extracts showed moderate, ratio-dependent activity. Formulas A and Dexhibitedthehighest microbial inhibitory activity, which was strongly correlated with TPC. Optimising herbal ratios enhancesbioactivity against MDR pathogens, with phenolics driving antimicrobial effects and flavonoids key to antioxidant activity. Validated crude drug quality bridges traditional Indonesian practice with pharmacopeial standards, guidingfuture formulation design.
Readers around the world
