Philippine E-Journals

Alternative Source of Herbal Medicine: Add-On to Buri (Corypha elata Roxb.) Leaf Industry

Petronila E. Florendo | Solita Evangeline S. Bañez | Mercita Q. Queddeng

Discipline: Biology

 

Abstract:

With the exorbitant prices of commercially available medicines nowadays, their accessibility to the people of the Philippines, especially the poor ones, is next to impossible. The country’s government, therefore, emphasizes the need to look for sources of alternative herbal medicines. This study, therefore, explored the possibility of the Buri (Corypha elata Roxb.) leaf extract as an alternative source of herbal medicine. Extraction through infusion of the pulverized leaves was used for the phytochemistry and antimicrobial activity determination. Results of the analyses of the leaf extract showed the presence of sterols, saponins, glycosides, and tannins, and complete antimicrobial activity, 10mm total mean zone of inhibition with a reactivity of 2 to Staphyloccocu aureus, Psedomonas aeruginousa, and Escherichia coli. Based on the results, the researchers concluded that the buri leaf extract has a promising contribution to the field of herbal medicine and can be used as an alternative herbal medicine for the treatment of diseases caused by aforementioned microorganisms. The researchers recommended isolation and characterization of the active compounds, the determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), and pharmacological studies on the leaf and the trunk extracts to draw out the plant’s full medicinal potentials.