Antioxidant and antiglycation potential of some Sudanese medicinal plants and their isolated compounds

Abstract

"Free radicals or reactive oxygen species (ROS) appear to be associated with a number of human neurodegenerative disorders, inflammation, diabetes, viral infections, autoimmune pathologies and digestive system disorders. In the present work twenty three ethanolic extracts of 20 medicinal plants, commonly used in Sudanese folk medicines against infectious diseases were investigated for their potential scavenging of superoxide free radicals. 14 extracts showed significant activity P < 0.05 for the scavenging of superoxide free radicals. Acacia nilotica bark, Balanites aegyptiaca barks, Khaya senegalensis leaves were the most active with 75, 72, 71% inhibition, respectively. However, the rest revealed moderate inhibition activity. Only A. nilotica barks (78%), K. senegalensis barks (74%), A. nilotica fruits (66%) and Tinspora bakis (61%) showed over 50% inhibition of glycation production assay, while the rest were less effective. Bioassay-guided phytochemical investigation proved catechin was the most active isolated secondary metabolite for both scavenging of superoxide free radicals and inhibition of glycation production assay. MTT cytotoxicity against 3T3 cell line indicates the safety of all plant ethanolic extracts as well as isolated compounds."