Phenolic composition of ten plants species used as ethnoveterinary medicines in Omusati and Kunene regions of Namibia

Abstract

The therapeutic benefits of phenolic compounds found in plants are well known. The purpose of this study was to determine the phenolic content of ten plant species used as ethnoveterinary treatments in Namibia’s Omusati and Kunene regions. The plants of concern were Aloe esculenta, Fockea angustifolia, Boscia albitrunca, Combretum imberbe, Acacia nilotica, Colophospermum mopane, Acacia erioloba, Ziziphus mucronata, Ximenia americana, and Salvadora persica. An LC–MS approach was used to identify the compounds. To analyse high-resolution UPLC-UV/MS, a Waters Acquity ultra-performance liquid chromatograph (UPLC) with a photodiode array detector was connected to a Waters Synapt G2 quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MS). The current study identified a total of 29 phenolic compounds. Flavonoids (epicatechin, (-)-Epigallocatechin, and rutin,) were the most abundant, followed by 2R, 3S-Piscidic acid. Methylisocitric acid was found in all species investigated, with the highest quantities in A. esculenta and X. americana leaf extracts. There were differences in composition and quantity of phenolic compounds in aerial and ground sections between species. The overall findings of the present study would act as a standard for subsequent investigations into the pharmacological potentials of plants species utilized as ethnoveterinary remedies. Priority should be given to isolating, purifying, and defining the active compounds responsible for these plants' activity.

The First Comprehensive Chemical Profiling of Vachellia gummifera (Willd.) Kyal. & Boatwr., a Plant with Medicinal Value

“…Hydroxycitric acid (1), hibiscus acid (2), and the fatty acids, 97-102, were identified putatively based on UHPLC-MS data. The presence of the only abscisic-like terpene, megastigman-7-ene-6,9,10-triol-3-one 9-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (26) was also confirmed in the leaf extract and not in the stems by 1 H-NMR data comparison with a similar compound in the literature (Table 2). [41]…”

“…This finding is even more important as stereochemical occurrences of secondary metabolites and their origin in the natural world remain a much discussed topic in natural product chemistry [25] . Recently, piscidic acid was identified as the major compound in the branch extracts of V. nilotica yet a significantly smaller amount was identified in its gum [26] …”

“…[25] Recently, piscidic acid was identified as the major compound in the branch extracts of V. nilotica yet a significantly smaller amount was identified in its gum. [26] Compound 94, one of the major abundant peaks in the chromatogram of the stem extract, was found only at trace level in the leaf extract chromatogram. It showed the [MÀ H] À ion at m/z 331.082 corresponding to a compound with the molecular formula C 17 H 16 O 7 .…”