Antisickling, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Afromomum alboviolaceum (Ridley) K. Schum, Annona senegalensis Pers. and Mondia whitei (Hook. f.) Skeels

Abstract

In accordance with statistics from the World Health Organization, nearly 80% of populations depend on traditional medicine for primary health care. In order to scientifically validate the phyto-therapeutic wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three plants were chosen namely: Afromomum alboviolaceum, Annona senegalensis and Mondia whitei. The objective of our study was to assess the antisickling, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the ethanolic extracts and the dichloromethane fractions of these three plants. Sickle cell blood was supplied from Centre de Médecine Mixte and Anémie SS of Yolo Sud, Kinshasa. Three bacterial strains were used including Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Pseudomonas aeroginosa ATCC 9027. The ethanolic extracts of A. alboviolaceum and A. senegalensis and dichloromethane fractions of A. alboviolaceum and M. whitei showed IC50 values < 100 µg/mL in the ABTS test. Only the dichloromethane fraction of A. senengalensis showed an IC50 value of less than 100 µg/mL for the DPPH test. The inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) values obtained from the ABTS test are lower than those of the DPPH test. All tested extracts possess a high antisickling activity and only soluble dichloromethane extracts are active vis-à-vis Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 31.5 µg/mL). These results constitute a scientific evidence validating the use of these three medicinal plants for the management of sickle-cell anemia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.