ABSTRACT
Medicinal plants are traditionally used in Gabon to treat several types of illnesses. The study's purpose was to determine the toxic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects of Antrocaryon klaineanum Pierre extracts and to characterize their phytochemical compounds. Toxicity was evaluated on frog tadpoles (Phrynobatrachus africanus Hallowell). The microorganism susceptibility test was performed by the diffusion method, while minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were evaluated using the microdilution technique. Anti-inflammatory activity was tested through protein denaturation and membrane stabilization methods. Chromatography and molecular network techniques were used to characterize chemical compounds. The lethality test showed that the lethal concentration (LC50) increased from 110.03 ± 1.25 to 15.86 ± 2.21 µg/mL after 24 and 96 hours of exposure. In tadpoles exposed to 7.81 µg/mL extract, the first mortalities (12.5%) were observed on the fifth day of exposure. A relative decrease in mature erythrocytes exposed to plant extracts was observed. The antibacterial activity shows that the Ak F2, Ak F3, and Ak F4 fractions (from the water-ethanol crude extract) gave the greatest antibacterial activities compared to the other extracts. The water, water-acetone, and water-ethanol extracts showed good inhibition of denaturation. The haemolysis test shows that the extracts exhibited good anti-inflammatory activities. Phytochemical characterisation revealed four major compounds, including monogallate epicatechin and hydroxy-ergostadian. The molecular network revealed five main clusters. Our study shows that A. klaineanum Pierre could be a promising natural product for the isolation of molecules with potential biological activities.
ABSTRACT
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality. Tieghemella africana and Ficus vogeliana are used in traditional medicine to treat cancers. AIM OF THE STUDY: Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant, antiangiogenic and anti-tumor activities of these plant extracts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To achieve it, phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity and antiangiogenic activity were assessed. Thereafter, the anti-tumor activity was determined using skin tumorigenesis induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene. RESULTS: The phytochemical result analysis showed that both plant extracts were rich in polyphenols, alkaloids and terpene compounds and possessed good antioxidant activity based on DPPH radical scavenging (IC50 = 9.70 µg/mL and 4.60 µg/mL and AAI values of 5.20 and 10.88) and strong total antioxidant capacity (115.44 VtCE (mg)/g of dry plant extract and 87.37 VtCE (mg)/g of dry plant extract, respectively). Additionally, both plant extracts possessed antiangiogenic activities (IC50 = 53.43 µg/mL and 92.68 µg/mL, respectively), which correlated with significant antitumor activities when using 35 mg/kg (65.02% and 77.54%) and 70 mg/kg of extracts (81.07% and 88.18%). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this study illustrates the promising usage of Tieghemella africana and Ficus vogeliana plant extracts in treating skin cancer. However, further characterization of the extracts must be performed to isolate the most active anticancer compound.