Ackee (Blighia sapida K.D. Koenig) Leaves and Arils Methanolic Extracts Ameliorate CdCl2-Induced Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Drosophila melanogaster

Bioactive constituents and acute toxicity of Blighia sapida capsule extracts using wistar rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Blighia sapida, commonly known as Ackee, is a plant native to West Africa, with great cultural and therapeutic value, particularly in Western Nigeria. Traditionally, Blighia sapida capsule is used in western Nigeria to treat ecthyma in sheep and goats by heating it in hot ash. This process causes the capsule to release a liquid, which is then directly applied to the entire affected area of the skin. However, there is limited information available on its phyto-constituents and medicinal effects.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This work examined the bioactive constituents, acute toxicity, and sub-acute toxicity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Blighia sapida capsule.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Extraction of phytochemical constituents was carried out with distilled water and ethanol and was concentrated at 40 °C. The phytochemical constituents were determined using a variant 3800/4000 gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) machine. Lorke's method was employed to determine the acute toxicity of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Blighia sapida capsule.

RESULTS

The GC-MS analysis revealed 15 bioactive compounds in both extracts, with kaempferol being the most abundant. Notable pharmacologically active compounds included pyrrolidin-2-ylmethanol, rutin, quinoline, apigenin, and naringenin. The study observed distinctive differences in aqueous and ethanolic extracts compound weights and peak areas. Acute toxicity study depicts that the lethal dose of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Blighia sapida capsule is above 5000 mg/kg as no mortality was recorded in the oral administration of 10, 100, 1000, 1600, 2900, and 5000 mg/kg of aqueous and ethanolic extracts. Sub-acute toxicity results indicated no significant adverse effects on kidney and liver function, although some variations in biochemical parameters were observed. Histological analysis showed normal renal and hepatic architecture in treated animals.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Blighia sapida capsule exhibited no acute toxicity and minimal sub-acute toxicity, suggesting they are safe for consumption at the tested doses.

Photo-physical characterizations and evaluation of in-vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic potentials of green synthesized ackee (Blighia sapida) selenium nano-particles

BACKGROUND

Green synthesized nanoparticles have recently gained significant medicinal applications and oftentimes outperform their green sources. Selenium is of fundamental importance to human health, stemming from its distinctive physicochemical properties, such as antioxidant activity, inhibition of Lipid peroxidation, stabilization of membrane proteins, maintenance of membrane fluidity and modulation of cell signaling. Though reports have shown some therapeutic potential of Ackee plant parts such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, very few scientific proofs still exist in support of these effects.

METHODS

This study synthesized selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) from crude methanolic extracts of Ackee leaves (AKL) and Ackee arils (AKA), examined the photo-physical characteristics of the Se-NPs and determined the in-vitro antioxidant, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory potentials of AKL, AKA, and their Se-NPs using established protocols.

RESULTS

In both leaves and arils Se-NPs: UV spectroscopy revealed a qualitative absorbance at 310 nm; FTIR indicated multiple vibrations around 4000 cm-1- 400 cm-1; SEM images of 5 µm principally showed consistent size distribution of amorphous and granular shape at a magnification of 10,000X; while EDS spectra strongly confirm the presence of atomic Se compound at 30 kV. Various antioxidant activities assays carried out showed a range of approximately 4 to 60 times higher activities of the AKL, AKA, and Se-NPs than Ascorbic acid-the standard drug used. Furthermore, appreciable activities of more than 50% were obtained for alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities, along with highly significant activities of haemoglobin glycosylation, glucose uptake, membrane stabilization, anti-arthritic, anti-haemolysis activities, when AKL, AKA, and Se-NPs were compared with standard drugs.

CONCLUSION

Encouraging the development and utilization of AKL, AKA, and Se-NPs will provide tremendous therapeutic efficacy and bioavailability approaches towards the management of diabetes, inflammation, and other oxidative stress-related diseases.

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) leaf and seed extracts alleviate neuronal dysfunction in aluminum chloride-induced neurotoxicity in Drosophila melanogaster Meigen model

Ocimum basilicum is an important medicinal plant and culinary herb generally known as sweet basil (SB). These plants are effective radical scavengers, that have been employed in treatment of nervous system disorders, and thus, could be beneficial for the management of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). Current clinical treatments for NDs present several side effects, therefore, there is need to develop new treatments that can mitigate these deadly diseases. Hence, this study investigated the neuroprotective activities of SB leaf and seed in aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced toxicity in Drosophila melanogaster. HPLC characterization of the leaves and seeds were carried out. AlCl3-diet was used to induce neurodegeneration and treated flies received SB leaf and seed extracts-supplemented diet. Survival and locomotor performance activities/levels of oxidative biomarkers [reactive oxygen species (ROS), thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), total thiol, catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)], enzymes linked with neurodegeneration (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase (MAO)) were investigated. SB leaf had significantly (p < 0.05) higher polyphenol contents; gallic acid and P-coumaric acid were the most abundant polyphenol in the leaf and seed respectively. Percentage survival and locomotor rates, level/activities of total thiol, catalase, SOD and GST were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced while ROS, TBARS, AChE and MAO activities were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in AlCl3-diet-fed flies. Treatment with SB leaf and seed diet lessened these observed impairments. However, SB leaf had better neuroprotective activities that could be related to the observed higher phenolic constituents. Hence, SB leaf diet may offer improved therapeutic effect in NDs.