Abstract
Methods: Using standard procedures, Ximenia caffra fruit extracts were determined for ferrous ions chelating ability, nitric oxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability. Antiradical activities were assessed using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in which the fruit extracts were evaluated for the number of antiradical units (AU515), the number of antiradical units per 1 mg of extracts (EAU515) and the total number of antiradical units per 1g of raw fruits (TAU515).Results: The fruit extracts exhibited significant higher ferrous ion chelating and free radical scavenging capacity compared to synthetic antioxidants (standard). Fruit extracts in early ripening stage (ERS) exhibited stronger ion chelation, nitric oxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability with low effective fruit extract concentration required to reduce free radicals by 50% (EC50) that were 14, 25 and 30µg/ml respectively than the late ripening stage (LRS) extracts. The fruit extracts also showed high AU515, EAU515 and TAU515. The values of AU515 ranged from 0.93 to 0.95, while EAU515 from 78.30 to 79.34 and TAU515 ranged from 19762.46 to 23821.23 of the extracts in LRS and ERS respectively.Conclusion: Based on these observations Ximenia caffra is potentially beneficial to human health due to its strong ability to scavenge free radicals. Its utilization can potentially reduce the risk of degenerative diseases to human beings.
Highlights
Free radicals are constantly generated in the human body during the oxidation process
The fruit extract in early ripening stage (ERS) had shown significant stronger chelating capacity, thereby at a concentration of 0.05 mg/ml had 94.61 % than in late ripening stage (LRS) that had 90.17 % (LSD = 4.447, q = 8.262, P
The findings of this study showed X. caffra fruit extracts can reduce the concentration of metal ions in the human body better than the synthetic metal chelator EDTA and could be an alternate to synthetic antioxidants available in the market that might be healthy unsafe
Summary
Free radicals are constantly generated in the human body during the oxidation process. The free radicals have been implicated in many human diseases including accelerated ageing, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disease and inflammation. These deleterious effects result from an imbalanced body process of free radicals production and removal that leads to their excessive accumulation such that the bodily defenses fail to prevent oxidative damage [2, 3]. Consumption of food rich in antioxidants promotes body defense systems by keeping the amount of the free radicals balanced [4]. Public attention has been focused on natural antioxidants from plant materials as an alternative
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