Skripsi

Qualitative test on ingredients to identify alkaloid, saponin & volatile oil in electtaria cardamomum seed extract.

This research is based on experimental study that used cardamom plant as the main item. The type of cardamom plant chosen was from Malaysia named Elettaria Cardamom. Specific selection was done based on our selection criteria to get the best cardamom to be used in this experiment. Few tests were conducted repeatedly on the plant such as alkaloid test, saponin test, thin layer chromatography and spectrophotometry test. The trials were done to prove our belief that cardamom which has been used widely as spices in food among Asians can also be beneficial in medicine since it has been used as traditional medicine too. We tried to ascertain the presence of alkaloid, saponin and volatile oil in cardamom as those substances are valuable in modern medicine. The results obtained showed that the compound of volatile oil was found in Elettaria Cardamomum based on spectrophotometry test. On the contrary, all the other tests couldn’t find any traces of alkaloid nor saponin in Elettaria Cardamomum. Based on the discussion, alkaloid test and saponin test can be negative due to many external and internal factors. We can’t conclude that those elements are absent in Elettaria Cardamomum only by these tests. Further advanced tests with high technology should be done to confirm the absence of alkaloid and saponin. We could not proceed with other tests due to lack of funds. Few compounds of Olleum Foeniculli were found in Elettaria Cardamomum. These findings support the suggestion that Elettaria Cardamomum contains volatile oil.
Keywords: Elettaria Cardamomum, alkaloid test, saponin test, thin layer chromatography, spectrophotometry, alkaloid, saponin, Olleum Foeniculli, volatile oil.