Antioxidant and vasorelaxant activities of the Turraeanthus africanus methanol extract

Abstract

The present studies evaluate the antioxidant and vasorelaxant activities of the methanol stem bark extract of Turraeanthus africanus (Welw.) Pellegr. (Meliaceae). The antioxidant property investigated through the DPPH scavenging activity showed that the methanol extract from the stem bark of T. africanus was active with an inhibition rate of 72.47% at 500 μg/mL and IC50 of 29.2 μg/mL. This extract (0.1700 μg/mL) induced a concentration-dependent relaxation of guinea-pig aortic rings precontracted with noradrenaline or KCl, with a maximum relaxation reaching 87.55 and 97.42%, respectively, at a concentration of 700 μg/mL. The extract showed no significant effect on the electrically induced contraction of the guinea-pig papillary muscle. The results of this study indicate that the extract from the stem bark has interesting antioxidant and vasorelaxant properties and represents a potential source of medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. © 2009 Informa UK Ltd.