Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the in vitro antioxidant potentials of the leaves and fruits of Nauclea latifolia, a straggling shrub or small tree, native to tropical Africa and Asia. Hot water extracts of the leaves and fruits of Nauclea latifolia were assessed for their total polyphenolic, flavanol, and flavonol contents as well as 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging ability, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), Trolox equivalence antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The aqueous extract of the leaves was found to contain higher level of total polyphenols (11.63 ± 0.023 mg GAE/g), flavanol (1.45 ± 0.10 mg CE/g), and flavonol (2.22 ± 0.37 mg QE/g) than the extract of the fruits with values of 1.75 ± 0.02 mg GAE/g (total polyphenol), 0.15 ± 0.01 mg CE/g (flavanol), and 1.00 ± 0.13 mg QE/g (flavonol). Similarly, the aqueous extract of the leaves also exhibited higher DPPH (IC50 20.64 mg/mL), FRAP (86.10 ± 3.46 μmol AAE/g), TEAC (94.83 ± 3.57 μmol TE/g), and ORAC (196.55 ± 0.073 μmol TE/g) than the extract of the fruits with DPPH (IC50 120.33 mg/mL), FRAP (12.23 ± 0.40 μmol AAE/g), TEAC (12.48 ± 0.21 μmol TE/g), and ORAC (58.88 ± 0.073 μmol TE/g). The present study showed that Nauclea latifolia has strong antioxidant potentials with the leaves demonstrating higher in vitro antioxidant activities than the fruits.

Highlights

  • Free radicals, which belong to a group of reactive oxygen species (ROS), are produced through endogenous source, that is, the human body itself, and exogenous sources such as tobacco smoke, burning of fossil fuels, and ozone [1]

  • Essential source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects is thought to be obtained from medicinal plants [7, 26, 27]

  • The antioxidant contents of medicinal plants may contribute to protection against diseases [28]

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Summary

Introduction

Free radicals, which belong to a group of reactive oxygen species (ROS), are produced through endogenous source, that is, the human body itself, and exogenous sources such as tobacco smoke, burning of fossil fuels, and ozone [1]. The inhibiting or preventive effects of herbs or spices against the deleterious consequences of oxidative stress are due to the presence of natural antioxidants in them [2]. Nauclea latifolia Smith (family: Rubiaceae) is a straggling, evergreen, multistemmed shrub or small tree native to tropical Africa and Asia. It normally produces interesting flowers, edible, but not appealing, large red ball fruits with long projecting stamens [4]. Used parts of Nauclea latifolia include the leaves, roots, stem, and fruits. This study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant potentials in the aqueous extracts of the leaves and fruits of Nauclea latifolia as these could be the contributing factors to their health beneficial effects

Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion
Trolox Equivalence Antioxidant Capacity in the Aqueous
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