ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL EVALUATION OF THE METHANOL LEAF EXTRACT AND FRACTIONS OF DACRYODES KLAINEANA PIERRE (BURSERACEAE)

Abstract

Dacryodes klaineana is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of painful menstruation; tachycardia and cough. The study aims to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the plant. The extract and fractions of D. klaineana were screened for their antioxidant effects using the 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and the total phenolic contents (TPC) assay methods. The antimicrobial activity of the plant was evaluated using the agar diffusion method against four different bacterialstrains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and two fungi strains (Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans). The crude methanol extract (MLE), hexane fraction (MLHF), ethyl acetate fraction (MLEF) and butanol fraction (MLBF) produced dose-dependent antioxidant activity using DPPH and FRAP assays. The antioxidant activity of MLEF was comparable to the standard drug, ascorbic acid. MLEF also gave the highest content of total phenol content with a percent gallic acid equivalent of 100.68 ± 1.17 mg GAE/g. The extract and fractions were active against the bacteria species, but inactive against the fungi species. The study demonstrated that the antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of D. klaineana may offer a promising source of new antioxidants and antimicrobials in the ethnomedicinal management of diseases.