Phytochemical composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Pergularia daemia

Background: Pergularia daemia of the Asteraceae family has wide use in ethno-medicine. It is established to have pharmacologicall activity with potential medicinal significance as an antifungal, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiinflamatory, analgesic, fertility, hepatoprotective and antic ancer agent. Aim: This study estimated the qualitative and quantitative amount of of phytochemicals in Pergularia daemia plant and the and antioxidant capacity was also determined. Setting: The fresh plants of P. Daemia were collected from Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria and was identified at Plant Biology Department of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. The samples were air-dried, pulverized and stored properly for investigation. Method: Both qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses of the leaves and stem were determined through n-hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of P. daemia. Antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydroxyl (DPPH). The antibacterial and antifungal assay of the extracts were determing by dissolving 1 mg of the extract in 5 mL of the extracting solvent to give a 200 µg/mL solution. Results: Flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and glycosides were present in all the stem and leaf extracts of P. daemia. The total phenolic content of the extracts ranged from 15.898 ± 0.111 mgGA/g to 54.679 ± 0.675 mgGA/g. The leaf has higher concentration of flavonoids than the stem and the ethanol extracts contain highest content of flavonoids. The concentration of the ethanol extract of the leaf was 400.196 mg QE/g while that of ethyl acetate and n-hexane were 388.627 mg QE/g and 338.725 mg QE/g respectively at 10 mg/mL. Ethanol extracts has the highest concentration of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity. Conclusion: The results derived from this study validate the ethno-medicinal use of the aerial parts of P. daemia

Comparative Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical Profile of Four Capsicum Fruits Species

Capsicum fruits are commonly consumed vegetables included in foods worldwide as spices. Capsicum species are known to improve digestion and appetite, cure colds, coughs, fever, colic, dysentery, worms, and piles among others. This research is therefore aimed at evaluating the phytochemicalas well as the antioxidant activities of four different varieties of Capsicum commonly consumed in Africa. The fruits were extracted using 3 different solvents; n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. The phytochemical evaluation was carried out using standard methods. Antioxidant activities were evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay. The highest yield of extract was obtained with methanol from Capsicum annuum var. grossum (25.48%); The phytochemical screening of crude extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, phenols, terpenoids, tannins, coumarins, and cardiac glycosides. The total phenolic contents of crude extracts of Capsicum species ranged from 25.10±0.3 to 62.01±0.1 mg GAE g-1 (Gallic acid equivalent) of dry weight and the flavonoid contents ranged from 206.08±0.03 to 474.23±0.04 mg QE g-1 (Quercetin equivalent) of dry weight. The capacity to neutralize DPPH radicals was found to be at the highest in methanolic extracts of Capsicum species which neutralized 50% of free radicals at the concentrations of 5.79 μg mL-1, 8.08 μg mL-1, 5.76 μg mL-1, and 8.81 μg mL-1for Capsicum annuum var. accuminatum, Capsicum frutescens var. baccatum, Capsicum annuumvar. grossum and Capsicum annuum var. abbreviatum respectively. The study has concluded that Capsicum species contain phytoconstituents with high antioxidant activities and great potential to combat oxidative stress and other related diseases