Determination of Total Flavonoid Content
The total flavonoid content was determined using the Dowd method [11]. 5 mL of 2 % aluminium trichloride (AlCl3) in methanol was mixed with the same volume of the extract solution (0.05 mg/mL). Absorption readings at 415 nm using spectrophotometer were taken after 10 minutes against a blank sample consisting of a 5 mL extract solution with 5 mL methanol without AlCl3. The total flavonoid content was determined using a standard curve with rutin as the standard. Total flavonoid content is expressed as rutin equivalent (mg of RE/ g of extract).