Chemical Profile, Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Potency of Extracts of Vitex madiensis Oliv. and Crossopteryx febrifuga (Afzel ex G. Don)

Abstract

Vitex madiensis Oliv. (Lamiaceae) and Crossopteryx febrifuga (Rubiaceae), two plants commonly used in traditional African medicines to treat malaria and pain, were studied either to determine their chemical profiles or to evaluate their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, we investigated leaves, trunk bark, root bark and fruits methanolic extracts of both plants in order to find out which part of the plant is responsible for the activity. The analyses of the chemical profiles allowed us to confirm the presence of several ecdysteroids, especially 20-hydroxyecdysone in some parts of V. madiensis and to highlight the presence of organic acids and phenol derivatives in C. febrifuga. Among the four parts of the plants studied, only the fruits extract of C. febrifuga could present anti-inflammatory activity by decreasing ROS production. The leaves and trunk bark extracts of V. madiensis showed significant free radical scavenging activity compared to ascorbic acid, and the same extracts decrease ROS production significantly. The activity of these two extracts could be explained by the presence of ecdysteroids and flavonoids. The ROS production inhibition of V. madiensis is particularly interesting to investigate with further analyses.

Anti-Oxidant Activities, Dosage of Total Polyphenols and Flavonoids from Crossopteryx febrifuga (AFZ. Ex G. Don) Benth (Rubiaceae)

“…These results are in agreement with those obtained by M. Séverin, and even more so in the work of Boungou and colleagues 5,6 . This antioxidant power is most likely due to the phenolic compounds present in Crossopteryx bark extracts, known as antioxidant substances with the ability to trap radical species.…”

“…These are iridoids, terpenes, saponosides and carbohydrates 4,5 . Several other compounds were identified by LC-MS analysis of extracts from leaves, trunk bark and root 6 . One glucoside, β-quinovine, and two alkaloids, crossopterin and crossoptin, were isolated 7 .…”