Abstract :
Binahong plant (Anredera cordifolia Ten) is an herbal plant that come from
China. This plant grows creeping and can reach 5 in length meters. The leaves are
shaped like a heart with the stem at the most curved part and the color of the leaves is
green, soft stems are cylindrical and on the sidelines of the leaves and stems there are
tubers that are rough textured. Leaf binahong contains saponins with a mechanism of
action as an antibacterial which denatures the protein. The surface active substance of
saponins is similar to detergent, so saponins can be used as an antibacterial where the
surface tension of the bacterial cell wall is reduced and the permeability of the bacterial
membrane is impaired. The purpose of this research was to determine the levels of
saponins in binahong leaf extract using gravimetric method. Qualitative analysis was
carried out by foam test and resulted foam with a height of 2cm which means it is
positive for saponins. Color test produces a green ring which indicates the type of
steroidal saponin. Leaf binahong which has been dried then mashed and extracted by
the method of maceration with methanol solvent. Quantitative analysis was carried out
by the method gravimetry. The saponin content of the binahong leaf extract in the study
was obtained in range from 3,50% to 5,52%.