Anticariogenic and Antioxidant Activity of Some Medicinal Plants from Tende Village, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Antibacterial and antioxidant activities and phytochemical analysis of 19 medicinal plants from Tende village in East Kalimantan, Indonesia were investigated. The plants were collected on the basis of ethnopharmacological information. The samples collected were extracted with n- hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol. Antibacterial activity was determined by an agar diffusion method against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus , two cariogenic-causing bacterial strains. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH radical scavenging mechanism. Phytochemical analysis of was determined by the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannin, saponin, steroids, carotenoid and coumarins. The results showed that n- hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis , and ethanolic extracts of Artocarpus altilis displayed good activity against S. mutans at 25-400 µg/well of the extracts tested. The n- hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of S. jamaicensis , and the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of B. balsamifera displayed good activity against S. sobrinus at 25-400 µg/well of the extracts tested. The highest antioxidant activity against DPPH was displayed by the Cocos nucifera root and Vernonia arborea leaves exhibiting 90% and 87% inhibition, respectively. The present results showed potential of medicinal plants used by Tende people from East Kalimantan as natural anticariogenic and antioxidant and also give a scientific basic to the traditional uses of the investigated plants.