2020, Vol. 8, Issue 4, Part D

author(s)
OD Olukanni, E Lugard, E Emmanuel, AT Olukanni, F Ayoade and EU Durugbo

abstract
Medicinal plants are promising sources of natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents and are readily available for ameliorating the increasing burden of diseases related to oxidative damage and inflammation. In the present study, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of methanol extract of Albizia zygia, which is used traditionally as a therapeutic agent, was investigated. The antioxidant activity was examined using DPPH scavenging, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging. The anti-inflammatory activity was studied in vitro as the inhibition of proteinase and protein denaturation. The functional groups in the plant extract were identified using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the bioactive compounds were determined using Gas Chromatography and Mass spectroscopy (GCMS). The plant extracts demonstrated a positive concentration-dependent antioxidant with IC50 of 152 µg for DPPH, and anti-inflammatory effects with IC 50 of about 48 µg for DPPH for protein denaturation. The results of FTIR confirmed the presence of relevant functional groups, and the GCMS revealed the presence of various compounds like docosanoic acid, methyl stearate, and squalene, which are known to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In conclusion, these results showed that the extracts of Albizia zygia could protect against oxidative stress due to the presence of docosanoic acid, methyl stearate, and squalene present in the leaves.