Background: In the past few years, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of plant-based health supplements with respect to their safety and efficacy in diseases treatment and prevention. Solanum dasyphyllum, also known as Africa eggplant is ethnomedicinally used as an antivenom, pain reliever and anticonvulsant in various part of Nigeria, however, there is no scientific data to support some of these claims. Methods: This study evaluated the protective effect of solvent fractions of Solanum dasyphyllum, hexane fraction of S. dasyphyllum (HFSD), dichloromethane fraction of S. dasyphyllum (DFSD), ethylacetate fraction of S. dasyphyllum (EAFSD), methanolic fraction of S. dasyphyllum (MFSD) and crude fraction of S. dasyphyllum (CFSD) on cyanideinduced oxidative stress and neurotoxicity in vitro in the cerebral cortex. Neuroprotective activities were evaluated by assaying for markers of oxidative stress, neurotoxicity and electron transport system enzymes via evaluating lipid peroxidation (LPO), protein carbonyl (PC), reduced glutathione (GSH), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), NADH-succinate dehydrogenase (NSD), NADH-cytochrome c reductase (NCR), and succinate-cytochrome c reductase (SCR) in the homogenate of cerebral cortex.

We earlier reported the protective effect of Solanum dasyphyllum against cyanide neurotoxicity. In furtherance to this, we investigated the protective effect of S. dasyphyllum against rotenone, a chemical toxin that causes brain-related diseases. Mitochondria fraction obtained from the brain of male Wistar rats was incubated with various solvents (hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate, and methanol) extracts of S. dasyphyllum before rotenone exposure. Mitochondria respiratory enzymes (MRE) were evaluated along with markers of oxidative stress. The inhibition of MRE by rotenone was reversed by treatment with various fractions of S. dasyphyllum. The oxidative stress induced by rotenone was also reversed by fractions of S. dasyphyllum. In addition, the ethylacetate fraction of S. dasyphyllum was most potent against rotenone-induced neurotoxicity. In conclusion, S. dasyphyllum is rich in active phytochemicals that can prevent some neurotoxic effects of rotenone exposure. Further study can be done in an in vivo model to substantiate our results.