Pages: (28-46 )
Abstract
Anthocleista djalonensis A. Chev is widely used in traditional medicine to treat a wide range of diseases.
The study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition, quantify the total flavonoid and phenolic
content, and analyze the flavonoid constituents using High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Additionally, it will evaluate antioxidant and analgesic effects of the methanol leaf extract in rats through
in vivo experiments. Antioxidant activity was measured utilizing the ferric reducing antioxidant power
(FRAP) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) radical scavenging assays. HPLC was utilized to
profile the flavonoid compounds. Standard procedures were employed for the qualitative phytochemical
screening of the plant extract. The extract's analgesic activity was evaluated using the hot plate model in
rats. The study reveals the existence of secondary metabolites, comprising of tannins, cardiac glycosides,
saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids and alkaloids. The extract gave phenolics, flavonoid content and DPPH
scavenging activity of 22.72±0.18 mg GAE/g, 100.37±0.73 mg QE/mg and 71.01±0.15mg QE/mg
respectively. The FRAP assay revealed that ascorbic acid had noticeably more reducing power than the
methanolic A. djalonensis leaf extract at all concentrations examined. The extract demonstrated notable
analgesic effect in the hot plate model (γΊ®< 0.005), as evidenced by the increased reaction time of the rats
to 12.00±5.00 seconds after treatment, compared to the control group (6.0±1.00 sec). HPLC analysis
revealed the presence of twenty-one flavonoid compounds consisting of catechin, rutin, hesperidin,
quercetin, hesperetin as major flavonoids. The research reveals that the leaf extract of A. djalonensis
contains phytochemicals, including flavonoids that exhibit antioxidant and analgesic properties.
Consequently, utilizing the leaf portion of this plant could be a potential approach for pain management.
Keywords: Anthocleista djalonensis, analgesic and antioxidant activities, flavonoids, HPLC,