Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Capacity of Chloroxylon swietenia DC. Leaf Extracts

Chloroxylon swietenia is a medicinally important tree with documented traditional therapeutic applications. Despite its ethnomedicinal significance, comprehensive phytochemical characterisation and bioactivity evaluation remain limited. Dried leaf powder was subjected to Soxhlet extraction using different solvents with increasing polarity. Phytochemical screening was conducted using standard protocols. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride methods, respectively. Total antioxidant capacity was assessed through phosphomolybdenum assay. Functional groups were identified using FTIR spectroscopy, and bioactive compounds were characterised using GC-MS. Phytochemical screening revealed that methanol and acetone extracts contained the highest diversity of secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, saponins and tannins. Total phenolic content ranged from 3.387 ± 0.528 to 143.455 ± 1.181 mg/g GAE, with methanol extract showing the highest concentration. Flavonoid content ranged from 10.36 ± 0.468 to 109.85 ± 3.306 mg/g QE. Except aqueous extract, other extracts showed significant antioxidant activity in phosphomolybdenum assay. FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of diverse functional groups. Through GC-MS analysis, we identified Bioactive compounds, Chalepensin, Chalepin, Lupeol and Isopimpinellin, which are the major compounds with established therapeutic properties. This study demonstrates that Chloroxylon swietenia serves as an exceptional reservoir of therapeutically valuable bioactive compounds, establishing its significance in contemporary pharmaceutical research.