Solvent Matters: Phenolics and Flavonoids in Freshwater Clam Extracts | InformativeBDD

Simonette C Villabeto,  Romeo M Del Rosario, and Oliva P Canencia, from the institute of Philippines. wrote a Research article about, Solvent Matters: Phenolics and Flavonoids in Freshwater Clam Extracts. Entitled, Total phenolics and total flavonoids of extracts from freshwater Clam (Corbicula fluminea) using different solvents. This research paper published by the Journalof Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

The ethanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane extracts of the freshwater clam (Corbicula fluminea) were studied for the total phenolics and total flavonoids. Total phenolics and total flavonoids of the extracts were evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteau and Aluminum chloride colorimetric methods respectively. The findings showed that the total phenolics of the ethanol extract (1.67±0.28mg GAE/g of dried sample) were substantially higher than the total phenolics obtained from the ethyl acetate (0.70±0.00mg GAE/g) and hexane extracts (0.56±0.23mg GAE/g). While the total flavonoids in the ethyl acetate extract displayed a slightly higher total flavonoid (43.84±0.92mg QE/g of dried sample) relative to ethanol (30.41±1.34mg QE/g of dried sample) and hexane extracts (20.28±0.00mg QE/g of dried sample). Using ethanol, the highest yield for extraction was obtained. Ethanol is the best solvent among the three – ethanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane in terms of extraction yield and total phenolics. In addition, it can be inferred that the presence of significant amounts of phenolics and flavonoids suggests that freshwater clam is a promising source of antioxidants that provides nourishing proteins and oxidative stress remedies.

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Introduction

A part of the growing advanced technology is the daily exposure to various oxidants such as environmental pollutants, radiation, chemicals, several food ingredients and preservatives, pesticides and even physical stress which eventually cause depletion of immune system antioxidants resulting to cell damage and many serious ailments. Antioxidants hold a significant function in the prevention of cell and tissue damage. It has been widely proven that plants provide a long list of secondary metabolites to include flavonoids and phenolic compounds that act as chemical defense, yet, experts continue searching for another possible source of natural antioxidants which include aquatic species. Several studies have already been conducted exploring the presence of these compounds from freshwater and marine organisms. Freshwater clam is among the many aquatic plants that have attracted the attention of many researchers.

Recently, development of new drugs and specific health foods have considered freshwater and marine products as sources of nutraceutical and functional foods (Koyama et al., 2014).

Freshwater clam, Corbicula fluminea (Fig. 1) is a clam that belongs to class Bivalvia and family corbiculidea. Juvenile freshwater clam has entirely developed shell and has a tan to brown and sometimes yellow-green to brown or black, solid shells and are generally rounded to slightly triangular in shape.

This clam has been found to possess various medical and biological effects, including cholesterol-lowering, hepatoprotective agent (Chijimatsu, et al., 2008; Hsu, et al., 2010), antioxidant, anticancer, antihypertension, and hypocholesterolemic effects (Kong et al., 2011) but its active constituents have not been studied extensively, Kong et al., added.

Factors such as local environmental conditions and geographical location may affect the growth of phytoplankton, the primary food source of freshwater clams, and so will likewise affect the secondary metabolites present. In addition, the method of extraction, especially the kind of solvent used should be given consideration. The solvent’s characteristics, polarities and the nature of the extractables can affect the yield of the crude extract. According to Tomsone et al., (2012), the solvent polarity is a very important parameter to consider to have higher extract yields – the higher the polarity of the solvent, the better the solubility. This, in turn, can affect the amount of the bioactive compounds that go along with the extract.

With these, freshwater clam from the Philippines, particularly in Del Carmen, Pres. Roxas can be a good source of secondary metabolites because the area has rich biodiversity. Also, no studies so far have been made on these freshwater clams that are endemic to that particular area. The purpose of the study is not only to determine the total phenolics and the total flavonoids of Corbicula fluminea but also to contribute to the validation of the claims of other researchers on its beneficial therapeutic effect.

Thus, the result of this study will provide baseline information to concerned agencies for the possibility of finding a new and potential source of natural antioxidants.

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Article source : Total phenolics and total flavonoids of extracts from freshwater Clam (Corbicula fluminea) using different solvents