Assessment of Total Polyphenolic, Flavonoid Contents, and In- Vitro Radical Scavenging Potential of Myanmar-Cultivated Black Ginger (Kaempferia parviflora Wall.)

Abstract

Kaempferia parviflora Wall., widely recognized as black ginger, is a high-value botanical resource extensively used in ethnomedicine across Southeast Asia due to its diverse therapeutic profile. This investigation quantified the total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and in vitro antioxidant capacity of black ginger rhizomes collected from Myanmar to establish empirical evidence validating its traditional use. Quantification of TPC was conducted via the Folin-Ciocalteu assay following modified ISO 14502-1:2005(E) protocols, whereas TFC was evaluated through an aluminum chloride spectrophotometric assay expressed in quercetin equivalents. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay was employed to evaluate free radical neutralization efficacy. Analytical results indicated that dried black ginger rhizomes yielded a TPC of 32.6 ± 0.05 mg gallic acid equivalents GAE/g DW and a TFC of 13.0 ± 0.07 mg quercetin equivalents QE/g DW. The DPPH scavenging efficiency displayed dose-dependent behavior, rising from 5.78% to 23.27% across an extract concentration span of 20 to 100 µg/ml. The calculated IC50 values were 224.63 µg/ml for the crude rhizome extract and 0.35 µg/ml for the L-ascorbic acid reference standard. These findings confirm that Myanmar-harvested black ginger rhizomes possess considerable levels of phenolic and flavonoid constituents with demonstrable radical-scavenging capabilities, supporting their integration as active phytochemical agents in Phyto-therapeutic and topical formulations.