Screening for Potential Antioxidants from <i>Chrozophora senegalensis</i> Crude Extract

Abstract

Numerous reports have indicated oxidative stress as the under-laying factor or associated with the onset or progression of numerous human ailments and disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer disease, diabetes, macular degeneration and aging. Chrozophora senegalensis (C. senegalensis) is a plant used in traditional medicine to cure both infectious and non-infectious diseases. This research was aimed to carry out the antioxidant activities guided isolation and characterization of phytocompounds from C. senegalensis methanol crude extract. The plant sample was extracted using maceration and concentrated on a rotary evaporator at 45oC. Three different but complementary methods; Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), Nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activities of C. senegalensis crude extracts. Column chromatography was used to isolate and purify the compounds from the most active n-hexane fraction and coded as CSC-1, CSC-2 and CSC-3. The compounds were characterized using NMR (1H &amp; 13C), GC-MS, melting point determination and in comparison with literature. The percentage free radical scavenging activity for FRAP, nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide assays were 94.51%, 92.38% and 91.67% respectively while that of ascorbic acid standard was 95.43±0.76%. The isolated compounds were identified as 1- hexacosanol (CSC-1), 1-triacontanol (CSC-2) and oleic acid (CSC-3). The isolation and characterization of these bioactive compounds from C. senegalensis crude extract validates its usefulness in traditional medicine practice.