Neurodegenerative diseases have been linked to oxidative stress arising from peroxidation of
membrane biomolecules and high levels of Fe and Sodium nitroprusside have been reported to play an
important role in neurodegenerative diseases and other brain disorder. Therefore, this study sought to
investigate the inhibitory effect of aqueous, ethanolic and ethyl acetate extract of Ocimum gratissimum leaves
on FeSO4 and Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) induced lipid peroxidation in rat brain in vitro. Incubation of the
brain tissue homogenate in the presence of FeSO4 and SNP showed both pro-oxidants [Fe and sodium 2+ nitroprusside (SNP)] caused a significantly reduction in (p<0.05) the accumulation of lipid peroxides in a concentration dependent manner. However, the ethyl acetate fraction significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited Fe2+ induced oxidative stress in the rat brain tissue homogenates than the aqueous and ethanolic extract respectively. This higher inhibitory effect of Ocimum gratissimum could be attributed to its significantly higher phytochemical content, Fe2+ chelating ability, hydroxyl scavenging ability, total phenolic content and reducing power. However, part of the mechanisms through which the extractable phytochemicals in Ocimum gratissimum protect the brain may be through their antioxidant activity, Fe2+ chelating, 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and OH scavenging ability. Therefore, oxidative stress in the brain could be potentially managed/prevented by dietary intake of Ocimum gratissimum
