PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND FTIR SPECTROSCOPY ON CRUDE EXTRACT FROM Enhalus acoroides LEAVES

Seagrass provides key ecological services in marine ecosystems, such as stabilising sediment, providing oxygen and acting as a nursery ground for marine biota. Seagrass has also been reported to have antioxidant activity that is useful for humans. One seagrass species, Enhalus acoroides, is widely distributed in Indonesia. This study aims to screen the phytochemical compounds, determine the functional groups and evaluate the profile of pigments present in E. acoroides leaf extract, which were collected from Semawang Beach, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia. The leaf extract was prepared using chloroform: ethanol (9:1) and tested for the presence of saponin, phenols, tannins and flavonoids. The functional groups and pigment profile were determined via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC), respectively. The results showed that the E. acoroides leaf extract contained phenols, tannins and flavonoids. The major functional groups found in the leaf extract were hydroxyl groups, lipids, alkanes, secondary amines, fatty acids, benzenoid compounds and phenols. The FTIR analysis also identified the presence of chlorophyll and carotenoids in the extract, which was further supported by the TLC analysis. This research shows that E. acoroides is a potential source of antioxidants and provides an opportunity for the development of natural products from E. acoroides in drug discovery.