• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.222-227
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• 2016

Background: The biological activities of Tradescantia pallida grown in Korea have not been well determined, thus the aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using it as a medicinal plant. Methods and Results: To investigate the antioxidant activity, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory effect and antimicrobial activity of T. pallida, we performed the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and reducing power assay. This assay for T. pallida leaf extract showed the highest antioxidant activity for the ethyl acetate fraction ($RC_{50}=14.55{\pm}0.16{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and Abs = 0.613 at $300{\mu}g$). Further, the ethyl acetate fraction exhibited higher ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory effect with an $IC_{50}$ value of $14.1{\pm}0.1{\mu}g/m{\ell}$ and showed antimicrobial activity against gram positive bacteria (minimum inhibitory concentration = $1,000{\mu}g/m{\ell}$). Conclusions: The ethyl acetate fraction of the crude methanol extract of T. pallida showed remarkable antioxidant activity, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory effects and antimicrobial activity. These activities might be related to the flavonoid content in the T. pallida leaf extract.