Assessment of the Scavenging Activity of Crude Methanolic Stem Bark Extract of Newbouldia Laevis on Selected Free Radicals

From ancient times, the therapeutic application of medicinal plants, also known as alternative medicine has been popular. Today, biological research has shown that this practice of phytotherapy will remain with man for sometime. Some medicinal applications of parts of Newbouldia laevis are known. Air dried leaves of N. laevis (Bignoniaceae) were powdered and extracted with 95%v/v methanol by maceration, and the extract concentrated at 40oC using Rotary evaporator. The weight of the extracted plant material was noted for the purpose of calculating yield. In vitro assessment of the ability of the extract to scavenge the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion and the synthetic radical 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was determined. Buthylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a synthetic antioxidant was used as a positive control. Plant extract showed concentration- dependent scavenging activity on all reactive species used. Scavenging activity of plant extract on hydrogen peroxide and superoxide was more than that of BHA on same. However, BHA was more effective at scavenging DPPH radical than plant extract