Asian Journal of Environmental Research
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): May-August

Phytochemical Screening and In Vitro Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitory Activity of Selected Indonesian Medicinal Plants

Agus Kurniawan (Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, Universitas Gunadarma, Indonesia & Doctoral Program of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Pancasila, Indonesia)
Syamsudin Abdillah (Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, Universitas Gunadarma, Indonesia)
Ernawati Sinaga (Department of Biology, Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Universitas Nasional, Indonesia)
Muhammad Hanafi (Doctoral Program of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Pancasila, Indonesia & Research Center for Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Traditional Medicine, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), KST B.J. Habibie, Indonesia)
Esti Mumpuni (Doctoral Program of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Pancasila, Indonesia & Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Pancasila, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
29 Aug 2026

Abstract

Hypertension remains a major global health challenge, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is an important therapeutic target for blood pressure control. Indonesian medicinal plants have long been used traditionally to manage hypertension; however, comparative evaluations of their ACE inhibitory activity remain limited. This study investigated the extraction yield, phytochemical composition, and in vitro ACE inhibitory activity of ten medicinal plant parts traditionally used for hypertension treatment. Plant materials were extracted by maceration with 96% ethanol, followed by phytochemical screening and ACE inhibition testing using the ACE Kit-WST assay at 100 µg/mL. Extraction yields ranged from 9.82% to 45.30%, with Averrhoa bilimbi fruit producing the highest yield. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids and flavonoids in all extracts, whereas saponins, quinones, tannins, and steroids/triterpenoids showed variable distributions. ACE inhibitory activity ranged from 62.61 ± 1.21% to 96.92 ± 3.05%. The highest activities were observed for Morinda citrifolia fruit (96.92 ± 3.05%), Piper betle leaf (96.87 ± 2.05%), and Dracaena angustifolia leaf (95.09 ± 1.27%), with no significant difference from captopril (99.09 ± 0.07%; p > 0.05). These findings support the traditional use of selected Indonesian medicinal plants for hypertension management and identify M. citrifolia, P. betle, and D. angustifolia as promising sources of natural ACE inhibitors for further investigation. The scientific validation of these medicinal plant resources may also support the sustainable utilization of biodiversity and the preservation of traditional ethnomedicinal knowledge.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ajer

Publisher

Subject

Chemical Engineering, Chemistry & Bioengineering Computer Science & IT Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Materials Science & Nanotechnology Medicine & Pharmacology

Description

Asian Journal of Environmental Research (AJER) is an International journal with a frequency of 3 (three) times a year, published by the Science Tech Group. Manuscripts submitted must be original Research Articles and Literature Reviews that aim to contribute to and disseminate sustainable updates. ...