Abstract

IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL PROFILES OF THREE ANTITUMOR MEDICINAL PLANTS GROWN IN SUDAN

Amina Ibrahim Dirar, Magdi Awadalla Mohamed*, Hassan Subki Khalid,Bashier Osman, Eltyeb Fadul and Asaad Khalid

Abstract

Oxidative stress has become widely viewed as an underlying condition of most prevalent human aliments including cancer. The present study aims to evaluate the antioxidant potential of three medicinal plants, grown in Sudan, namely, Ambrosia maritima L., Aristolochia bracteolata L. and Lawsonia inermis L., widely held in traditional practice and reputed to cure tumor. Extraction of the active morphological plants' parts was commenced with dichloromethane then 80 % methanol. The antioxidant activity and phytochemical profile were conducted via 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and preliminary phytochemical screening, respectively. Lawsonia inermis MeOH extract ranked the top DPPH active extract (% RSA= 86 ± 0.07%). Other methanolic plants' extracts, except A. bracteolata branches, reported a good antioxidant activity (% RSA > 50 %). Preliminary phytochemical screening of the candidate extracts revealed the presence of coumarins, flavonoids, sterols and tannins. Thus, A. maritima, A. bracteolata and L. inermis by virtue of their antioxidant potential may support their ethnomedicinal uses as antitumor agents.

Keywords: Oxidative stress, Medicinal plants, Antioxidant, Antitumor, DPPH, Sudan.