<i>In vitro</i> antisickling and antioxidant properties of aqueous and ethanol extracts of fifty selected plants used in the management of sickle cell disorder in southern Nigeria

Abstract

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an ailment with enormous social and economic burden for patients and care givers. The study evaluated the in vitro antisickling and antioxidant properties of aqueous and ethanol extracts of fifty selected plants used in the management of sickle cell disease (SCD) with the aim of justifying their use in the management of the disease in southwestern Nigeria. Aqueous and 70% ethanol extracts of fifty (50) surveyed plants were subjected to in vitro antisickling activities and forty plants with above 50% activity levels in both inhibitory and reversal models were later tested for their antioxidant assay involving four tests namely DPPH, FRAP, Fe-chelating and total antioxidant content using standard methods. Significant mean values were separated using the Least Significant Difference at 0.05 % level of probability. Among all the plants with above 50% activity levels in both inhibitory and reversal models, three plants which are Gongronema latifolium, Cymbopogon citratus and Piper guineense had the highest value of 89.81, 89.72 and 84.48 % respectively in ethanol extracts. The least activity for both aqueous and ethanol extracts was found in Amaranthus spinosus and Amaranthus viridis. It can be inferred from the result of the study that 80 % the plants evaluated possessed high antisickling and antioxidant activities and may thus justified their use for the management of SCD in the South – West, Nigeria.Keywords: Sickle cell disease, antisickling, inhibition, reversal, antioxidant