The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity of the extractable and non-extractable phenolics of Terminalia. Sericea Burch. Ex DC. Free, ester bound, ether or glycoside bound and insoluble phenolics were extracted from the fruit, leaves, stem, and root samples. Follin Ciocalteu was used to estimate the phenolic content while DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay was used to determine the antioxidant activity. The data obtained were subjected to multivariate analysis for relationships. The result indicated that the highest average total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities were found in the free (14.8 mgGAE/g; IC50 6.8 μg/mL) and ester bound (15.1 mgGAE/g; IC50 6.4 μg/mL) extractable phenolics. There was a strong negative correlation between TPC and DPPH (r = -0.828). Agglomerative hierarchical clustering revealed three clusters. Cluster one contained the insoluble and glycoside phenolics while cluster 2 contained only free phenolic acid of the root. The third cluster was predominantly free and ester bound phenolic extracts. The principal component analysis score plot indicated two major clusters with factor 1 (F1) explaining 61% of the variation. The nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy spectra indicated that gallic acid and resveratrol are the major phenolic compounds present in the root. This study has demonstrated that extractable phenolics contributed more to the antioxidant activities compared to the non-extractables.
Keywords: agglomerative hierarchical clustering; antioxidant activity; extractable; multivariate analysis; non-extractable; nuclear magnetic spectroscopy; principal component analysis.