Evaluation of the hydro-alcohol extract of Cola lepidota (K Schum) (Sterculiaceae) against urease enzyme for sustainable health and agronomy

Abstract

Natural products such as plant extracts provide unlimited opportunities for new drug discoveries because of the unmatched availability of chemical diversity. Cola lepidota (Sterculiaceae) commonly called Monkey kola, has been used over the years in ethnonomedicine practice and as food. This research was aimed at the evaluating the effect of the 70% aqueous ethanol extract from the pulp of Cola lepidota on the urease enzyme. The pulp of Cola lepidota was freeze dried and pulverized. The pulverized plant material was extracted exhaustively by cold maceration in 70% aqueous ethanol for 72 hours to afford the 70% aqueous ethanol extract. Phytochemical screening was conducted using standard methods. In vitro anti-urease screening was done spectrophotometric ally using the modified Berthelot method. Alkaloid, phenolics, flavonoids, saponins and cardiac glycosides were present in the powdered plant. The 70% aqueous ethanol extract exhibited a significant (p<0.05) activity against urease with an IC50 of 3.3799 mg/ml. In conclusion, C. lepidota fruit has anti-urease activities and could be a source of urease inhibitors for drugs and eco-friendly agrochemicals discovery thus justifying some of its folkloric uses.