Evaluation of the Antioxidant Activity of Stalk and Fruit of Solanum aethiopicum L. (Solanaceae)

Abstract

Background: The use of plants for healing dates back to very remote times. Nowadays with the accession of new diseases plants are increasingly used for the formulation of new drugs able to overcome the many diseases (cancer, atherosclerosis) often caused by the disorder of the system prooxidant/antioxidant.
 Aim/Objective: On the strength of this observation, the research of an antioxidant plant is essential, hence the aim of this study, which is to determine the antioxidant activity of the stalk and the fruit of Solanum aethiopicum L.
 Methods: The fruits and stalk were washed, cut into fine slats, then dried in the incubator for three days and finally crushed into powder. An extraction by decoction with ethanol (stalks and fruits) and water (fruit) was subsequently carried out to obtain three extracts (ethanol and water). Antioxidant activity was evaluated through the FRAP method, and the trapping of radical DPPH.
 Results: For the FRAP method, at the highest concentration (1 mg/ml) the aqueous extract of the fruit (74.84±2.97%) has a higher reducing power compared to those of the ethanolic extracts of the fruit (70.15 ± 5.72%) and the stalk (49.85 ± 2.11%). These reducing powers, although significant, remain lower than those of tannic acid (89.95±0.007%). And finally, for the DPPH method, the aqueous extract of the fruit is more effective in reducing free radical DPPH with a IC50= 162±33 µg/ml, follow up by ethanol extract from the stalk (IC50= 360± 90 µg/ml) and finally ethanol extract from the fruit (IC50= 362.5± 23.5 µg/ml). These results confirm the in vitro antioxidant activity of the studied parts of Solanum aethiopicum.
 Conclusion: Prospective studies could focus on acute and subacute toxicities and the determination of the molecules responsible for the activity.

Solanum aethiopicum: The Nutrient-Rich Vegetable Crop with Great Economic, Genetic Biodiversity and Pharmaceutical Potential

“…Reports have shown that saponins present in traditional medicine preparations cause hydrolysis of glycosides from terpenoids which avert the toxicity associated with the intact molecule [61,62]. Ascorbic acid and flavonoids have been found to be present in the fruits and stalk of the plant, which contain high antioxidant potential [63][64][65]. Traditionally, many tropical African countries use the fruits of bitter cultivars as medicine to cure certain ailments [66].…”