Research Article Phytochemical Analysis and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of the Extracts of the African Medicinal Plant Ximenia caffra

Copyright © 2015 Jing Zhen et al.This is an open access article distributed under theCreativeCommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A method was developed for identification and quantification of polyphenols in the leaves of Ximenia caffra using HPLC/UV/MS. Based on analyzing the MS and UV data and in comparison to the authentic standards, a total of 10 polyphenols were identified and quantified, including gallic acid, catechin, quercetin, kaempferol, and their derivatives. The total content of these compounds was found to be approximately 19.45mg/g in the leaf and the most abundant is quercetin-rutinoside (9.08mg/g).The total phenolic content as measured by Folin-Ciocalteu assay was 261.87 ± 7.11mgGAE/g and the total antioxidant capacity as measured in vitro was 1.46 ± 0.01mmol Trolox/g.The antiproliferative effect of the leaf extract was measured by MTS assay with IC 50 value of 239.0 ± 44.