Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities, Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Content in Selected Medicinal Plants, Non-Edible Medicinal Mushrooms and Seaweed
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Date
2020-07
Authors
Siangu, Belinda Nasike
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Medicinal plants play a major role for sources of lead compounds in drug discovery. Studies done have shown that plants, fungi such as mushrooms and seaweeds are a good source of bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer and antimicrobial activities. Antioxidants play main role by hindering oxidation by protecting cells from damage by free radicals. This protects the body from cancer and other chronic ailments like heart diseases. Anti-inflammatory effect is also important as it diminishes swelling and pain due to inflammation. A lot of studies have been done on medicinal values of higher plants but less on marine sources and wild non-edible medicinal mushrooms. Phenolics and flavonoids have a wide range of biochemical activities including antioxidant as well as anticarcinogenic. In this study, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, phenolic content and total flavonoid was evaluated from wild non-edible medicinal mushrooms: Ganoderma applanatum, Ganoderma lucidum and Trametus elegan; medicinal plants; -Urtica dioica, Prunus africana, Bridelia micrantha and brown algae; Eucheuma denticulutum. The antioxidant activity was assessed using 2, 2-diphenylpicryl-1-hydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method with ascorbic acid as reference standard while anti-inflammatory activity was achieved in vivo using mice as test animals. The total phenolic analysis was done using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and expressed as Gallic acid equivalent (GAE/g) while the total flavonoid content was determined by use of aluminium chloride colorimetric method and expressed as Quercetin equivalent (QE/g). Antioxidant activity of all extracts increased with concentration. Ganoderma applanatum showed the highest scavenging activity of (95.56%, IC50< 0.025) while Urtica dioica leaves had the lowest (11.99%, IC50> 0.03) activity at 0.3mg/ml of the extract. Ganoderma lucidum showed the highest total phenolic (156 ± 3.45 GAE/g) and flavonoid (31.16 ± 0.04 QE/g) content. Anti-inflammatory activity was done using formalin induced edema. The plant extracts showed a significant effect (p<0.05) in reducing the edema. The results of the study showed that the plants are source of lead compounds with promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. There is need to separate and identify actual phytochemicals responsible for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The findings of this study will provide information on potential sources of phytochemicals with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity from selected medicinal plants, mushrooms and marine algae.
Description
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Science (Chemistry) in the School of Pure and Applied Sciences of Kenyatta University, July, 2020
Keywords
Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory Activities, Total Phenolic, Flavonoid Content, Medicinal Plants, Non-Edible Medicinal Mushrooms, Seaweed