Antioxidant Activity and Inhibition of HMG CoA Reductase Enzyme by Bay Leaf (Syzygium polyanthum Wight) Extract as a Treatment for Hyperlipidemia

The prevalence of hyperlipidemia in Indonesia is increasing, due to the intake of high-fat foods, the demand for physical activity, and advancing age. Flavonoids are antioxidant compounds with anti-hyperlipidemic potential. Bay leaf (Syzygium polyanthum) is a flavonoid-rich plant that has been examined as a therapy for hyperlipidemia, but its mechanism of action is unknown. This study was aimed at determining the antioxidant potential and in vitro mechanism of action of bay leaf extract. The bay leaves were extracted with ethanol as a solvent, and the total flavonoid content was determined. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity was evaluated with a
spectrophotometer using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay was used to measure the activity of the HMG CoA reductase enzyme inhibition and compared it to simvastatin. The flavonoid concentration of quercetin in the bay leaf extract was found to be 2.852%, and the IC50 value of the bay leaf extract’s antioxidant activity was 12.05 µg/mL. The IC50 value of bay leaf extract in the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme inhibitory test was 22.74 µg/mL. The findings of this study indicate that the bay leaf extract is a very strong antioxidant with the ability to inhibit the HMG CoA reductase enzyme.