Abstract
Bear's breech or mountain thistle (Acanthus montanus (Nees) T. Anderson) is a shrub belonging to Acanthaceae family. It is widespread in Africa, Romania, Greece, and Eastern Mediterranean. African people engage its medicinal use for the management of urethral pain, endometritis, urogenital infections, urinary disease, aches and pains. Fresh leaves of A. montanus were collected from Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) herbal garden and identified at the Forestry Herbarium, Ibadan. About 200 g of the powered sample was macerated in 400 mL each of three organic solvents such as ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol respectively, for 24 h. Each extracts were screened for phytochemicals such as flavonoids, saponins, phenols, terpenoids, phlobotannins, alkaloids, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. Estimation of total flavonol content, and antioxidant assays such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide radical scavenging activity were also carried out. The quantitative phytochemical test (flavonol content) revealed that Acanthus montanus methanol extract was the richest one among the solvent systems while acetone extract gave the best antioxidant activity. It was observed that the antioxidant activity could be attributed to moderately polar extracts. The study, therefore, provides evidence that various solvents used in extraction can result in differences in quantitative phytochemicals and antioxidant activity.
Highlights
Plants are valuable sources of food and medicine for the preservation of human health and management of nutrition-related syndrome (Aliyu et al, 2008; Lawal et al, 2020a)
Fresh leaves of A. montanus were collected from Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) herbal garden and identified at the Forestry Herbarium, Ibadan
The quantitative phytochemical test revealed that Acanthus montanus methanol extract was the richest one among the solvent systems while acetone extract gave the best antioxidant activity
Summary
Plants are valuable sources of food and medicine for the preservation of human health and management of nutrition-related syndrome (Aliyu et al, 2008; Lawal et al, 2020a). Herbal remedies have been a reliable source that salvaged man’s health from various diseases, both mild and life-threatening, before the advent of allopathic drugs (Adam and Omogbene, 2020). Plant extracts as well as other alternative forms of medical treatment have made large contributions to human health and well-being (Chukwujekwu et al, 2005). Plants use for the management of common and diverse ailments is popular and still sustained among African people (Lawal et al, 2020b; Moyo et al, 2015; Sofowora, 1996). It has been proven that medicinal plants components characterize certain disease prevention capacity, and proved effective in the treatment of complex cases like cancer as ingredients of medicinal plants all interact synchronously, such that their uses supplement or destroy one another even as they counteract their possible side effects (Hassan, 2012)
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