Investigation into the Antioxidant and In vitro Anti-inflammatory Use of the Leaves and Tuber Extracts of Icacina trichantha

Abstract

This study investigates the leaves and tuber extracts of Icacina trichantha for in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Plant samples were collected, dried and extracted successively with hexane, ethylacetate and methanol. Phytochemical screening was carried out on the extracts. The total phenol content of the extracts was measured as mg Gallic acid equivalent/gram of sample. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant assays.The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts was determined using the membrane stabilization assay. The results showed the extracts containing various phytoconstituents. The methanol extract of the leaves had the highest phenolic content (93.842 mg Gallic acid equivalent/gram of sample) and the highest DPPH free radical scavenging properties (IC50 = 0.332). The methanol extract of the tuber had the highest ferric reducing properties (76.784 mg Ascorbic acid equivalence/g sample). The ethylacetate extract of the leaves showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity with membrane stabilizing properties higher than that of the standard drug, Indomethacin at 0.1 and 0.3 mg/ml, hence the results confirmed that the leaves and tuber of I. trichantha could be potential sources of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.Keywords: DPPH, Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Icacina trichantha, Phytochemical