TOTAL FLAVONOID CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN LEAVES OF TEN CULTIVATED SONCHUS ARVENSIS L. ACCESSIONS.

Sonchus arvensis L., as source of herbal medicine, is mostly collected from nature and rarely cultivated. In cultivated condition, the quality of S. arvensis might increase. The qualities of 10 accessions of S. arvensis, especially total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity, were investigated under cultivation condition. The field experiment was conducted from February to August 2016 at an organic experimental farm of IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia (6°30'-6°45' S, 106°30'-106°45' E). The experiment used randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Single factor of treatment was used, namely the accessions, comprised of 10 accessions originated from different areas in Java island. The results showed that the phytochemical contents (total flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity, vitamin C and anthocyanin) differed among accessions. Banjararum accession seemed to be best accessions among 10 cultivated S. arvensis accessions, as indicated by the highest flavonoid content and the highest PAL activity. Sumbersekar accession had the highest antioxidant activity and also the highest vitamin C content. Cibadak accession had the lowest content of anthocyanin and vitamin C, and PAL activity. Banjararum accession showed big potential to develop as flavonoid oriented variety near future. However, further study is required to reconfirm those results stability in different seasons and locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]