Phytochemicals, acute toxicity and in-vitro antioxidant activity of ethanol extract of Sphenocentrum jollyanum leaves

Abstract

Medicinal plants possess strong antioxidants that help to scavenge and protect the human health against several diseases caused by free radicals. This study was carried out to evaluate the phytochemical constituents, acute toxicity and antioxidant activity of the ethanol extract of Sphenocentrum jollyanum leaves in order to validate the medicinal potential of this herb. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using different in vitro models such as total phenolic, flavonoid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Iron chelating activity. Phytochemical constituents included alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides while total phenolic, flavonoid and gallic acid equivalent were 31.49, 29.98 and 1215.80 mg/mL respectively. The acute toxicity revealed that the oral lethal dose of the ethanol extract of S. jollyanum leaves is non-toxic and safe for consumption. The leaf extract of S. jollyanum exhibited scavenging activity with IC50 of 164.214, 72.410 and 167.202 mg/mL for DPPH, FRAP and Iron chelating activity respectively. The results obtained from this study reveal that the extract is rich in antioxidant components with several mechanisms of eliciting antioxidant actions which provide a scientific basis for its use in traditional system of medicine.