Abstract

This research assessed the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory activities of methanolic, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether extracts of the stem bark of Heisteria parvifolia. The phytochemical screening identified several important phytochemical constituents among the various solvent used. The various extracts were also tested for their abilities to scavenge a stable 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical by way of determining the plant antioxidant properties gave the IC50 values as, 46.98 μg/mL, 132.65 μg/mL, 2784.21 μg/mL for methanolic, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether respectively and 27.26 μg/mL for the standard drug (ascorbic acid). The ant-inflammatory activities of the plant extracts were determined which also gave promising carrageenan induced inflammation inhibition, methanolic extract against carrageenan induced inflammation were 59.12%, 54.62% and 51.55%. The ethyl acetate extract showed significant percentage inhibitions of 52.38%, 46.92% and 42.34%, while the petroleum ether only showed a percentage inhibition of chicks paw size of 42.85%. These results have justified the relevance of this plant in its wide traditional usage in wound healing.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Anti-inflammatory; Free radicals; P-values; DPPH; Total antioxidant capacity; Carrageenan; Foot paw size; Heisteria parvifolia; Dunnet’s multiple comparision test