Comparative Phytochemicals and Antioxidant Activity of Solvent Extracts from Leaves and Fruit Peels of Luffa aegyptiaca

Luffa aegyptiaca (Mill.) is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, found mostly in tropical Africa, including Nigeria, and some parts of India. The present study aimed to compare the phytochemical and antioxidant composition of various solvents (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol) extracts of L. aegyptiaca leaves and fruit peels. The leaves and fruit peels of L. aegyptiaca were processed and subjected to serial extraction using an ultrasonic-assisted method, and the phytochemical and antioxidant compositions of different extracts obtained were determined using standard procedures (n=3). The result showed that methanol yielded the highest percentage of extracts from both the leaves (6.0%) and fruit peels (4.8%) compared to n-hexane (2.2% leaves and 1.7% fruit peels) and ethylacetate (1.1% leaves and 0.4% fruit peels) (methanol > n-hexane > ethylacetate). Phytochemicals were relatively more abundant in the solvent extracts of the leaves, especially the methanol extract, compared with the fruit peel extracts. Antioxidant analysis showed that all extracts exhibited concentration-dependent activities in scavenging DPPH free radicals and chelating Fe2+. However, relatively higher antioxidant activities were observed in methanol extracts compared with the ethylacetate and n-hexane extracts (methanol > ethylacetate > n-hexane). Findings from the present study revealed that the leaves of L. aegyptiaca have comparatively higher phytochemical and antioxidant activities than the fruit peels, and the methanol extract is the best among the tested solvent extracts. Further research is therefore recommended to explore the practical applications of these findings in medical, nutritional, and industrial contexts, to pave the way for the use of L. aegyptiaca as a valuable resource in combating oxidative stress and related health issues.