Phytochemical Screening and FTIR Spectroscopic Characterisation of Melastoma malabathricum L. Leaf Extract: Preliminary Findings and Methodological Considerations for Extract Standardisation

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-836-8_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Melastoma malabathricum; phytochemical screening; FTIR spectroscopy; extract standardization

Abstract

Melastoma malabathricum L. (senduduk) is a Southeast Asian medicinal shrub whose leaves are rich in phenolic constituents, yet the chemical profiles of Indonesian accessions remain sparsely documented. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is increasingly applied to fingerprint crude plant extracts, although sample preparation is seldom reported in detail. This study characterised a methanolic leaf extract from Palembang, South Sumatra, by qualitative phytochemical screening and evaluated the suitability of FTIR spectroscopy for this material. Dried leaf powder was macerated in methanol (1:10 w/v, 3 × 24 h) and concentrated under reduced pressure at 40 ℃. Extraction yield was determined gravimetrically from three independent sub-batches. Screening for alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenolics, saponins, steroids and triterpenoids was performed in triplicate, and infrared spectra were recorded on a Shimadzu spectrometer at 2 cm⁻1 resolution with 45 co-added scans. The extract was obtained in 10.0 ± 0.5% (w/w) yield. Screening indicated the presence of multiple phenolic-associated constituent classes — tannins, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids — alongside alkaloids, saponins, and steroids, consistently detected across replicates; however, triterpenoids were not detected. The infrared spectrum, however, was dominated by hydrogen-bonded hydroxyl (3313 cm⁻1) and C–O (1021 cm⁻1) vibrations, while carbonyl (1750–1600 cm⁻1) and aromatic ring (1610 and 1515 cm⁻1) absorptions were absent, despite unambiguous colorimetric evidence for phenolic constituents in the same material. This divergence is attributed to residual extraction solvent in material analysed without prior drying to constant mass. Therefore, the spectrum cannot be regarded as a chemical fingerprint, and verified solvent removal is a prerequisite for interpretable infrared analysis of crude plant extracts.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Dessy Riskasari
AU  - Humairah Medina Liza Lubis
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/11
TI  - Phytochemical Screening and FTIR Spectroscopic Characterisation of Melastoma malabathricum L. Leaf Extract: Preliminary Findings and Methodological Considerations for Extract Standardisation
BT  - Proceedings of the3rd Malikussaleh International Conference on Health and Disaster Medicine 2026  (MICOHEDMED 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 70
EP  - 81
SN  - 2468-5739
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-836-8_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-836-8_8
ID  - Riskasari2026
ER  -