Antioxidant activity study and total phenolic determination of leaf extracts of <i>Ximenia americana L.</i> (Olacaceae) an antitumor plant used traditionally in Mali. Madani

Abstract

Objectives: Most of the currently used anticancer drugs are highly toxic and expensive. There is a continuing need to identify new drugs that are more effective and less toxic. Plants are an important source of potentially useful compounds for the development of new anticancer drugs.

Methodology and results: This work was used to study the antioxidant activity of two extracts of Ximenia americana (Tallow wood) by the methods of ABTS^•+ and DPPH using ascorbic acid as standard. It determined the rate of total phenolic in these extracts by the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) method using Gallic acid as standard. The extracts inhibited the absorbance of DPPH^• depending concentrations attesting that extracts of this plant contains antioxidants. The calculated IC₅₀ are 2.78 and 4.05 ;g/mL for ethanolic and aqueous extracts respectively with DPPH^•. Phenolic rates are 43.10; 41; 2 mg/mL respectively for alcoholic and aqueous extracts.

Conclusion and application of results: Future studies can be oriented on the isolation and identification of compounds involved in an anti-cancerous activity. The knowledge of this plant could be used to build an appropriate conservation strategy for this specie.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, ABTS^•+, DPPH, Total phenolic, Cancer