PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ANTIOXIDANT AND THROMBOLYTIC ACTIVITIES OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF CALAMUS TENUIS ROXB. LEAVES

Background/Objective: Calamus tenuis Roxb. (family Arecaceae) is a climbing palm used in traditional medicine across South and Southeast Asia for treating fever, hemorrhoids, bacterial infections, inflammation, diabetes, and gastric complaints. Despite its ethnomedicinal importance, information on the thrombolytic potential of its leaves remains scarce. This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition, antioxidant capacity, and thrombolytic activity of the methanolic extract of C. tenuis leaves. Methods: Dried leaves were subjected to cold maceration in methanol for 15 days, and the crude extract was obtained by rotary evaporation. Qualitative phytochemical screening was performed using standard colorimetric tests. Antioxidant activity was assessed by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay using a natural logarithmic regression curve fit, and thrombolytic activity was evaluated by an ex-vivo clot lysis assay using streptokinase as the standard and distilled water as a negativecontrol. Results: Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, and tannins. Natural logarithmic regression analysis optimized the evaluation of antioxidant capabilities, generating a precise fit line (y = 12.5124 • ln(x) − 12.7165, R² = 0.8135) and yielding an accurate IC₅₀ value of 150.26 µg/mL. In the thrombolytic assay, the extract produced 35.91% ± 2.44% clot lysis compared to streptokinase (76.65% ± 3.82%) and distilled water (4.72% ± 0.65%). Conclusion: The methanolic extract of C. tenuis leaves is rich in biologically active secondary metabolites and possesses notable antioxidant and promising thrombolytic activities. These findings provide a scientific basis for further phytochemical isolation, bioactivity-guided fractionation, and mechanistic studies.