Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Antibacterial Studies on the Stem Bark Extracts of Ximenia Americana Linn

Medicinal plants have been used in traditional medicine practices since pre-historical times. Any part of the plant could be used as medicine. A survey of traditional medicine men and women in Damaturu, Nigeria indicated that Ximenia americana is a plant used in the treatment of inflammation, wounds and cancer. The fresh stem barks of the plant were collected and successively extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. Phytochemical constituents of the extracts revealed the presence of cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, tannins, alkaloids, sterols and terpenoids. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical assay, whereas membrane stabilization method was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activities of the extracts. The antibacterial activity was studied against four (4) wound pathogens (Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pneumoniae), using disc diffusion technique. The results of the IC50 for antioxidant studies indicated that the methanol (22.4µg/ml) and ethyl acetate (28.4 µg/ml) extracts of X. americana exhibited higher antioxidant activities than the standard ascorbic acid (38,9µg/ml). The extracts were found effective in inhibiting the heat induced hemolysis in a concentration dependent manner. The n-hexane extract showed the highest protection level (84.41 – 87.98%, p