Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant properties of Stem bark of Khaya senegalensis (Dry- zone Mahogany)

Abstract

Khaya senegalensis, a member of the family maliaceae, is a plant commonly used by the local people of Nigeria for the treatment of dysentery, mucous, diarrhoea, vermifuge, taeniacide, depurative, Syphilis jaundice, dermatoses, scorpion bites, allergies infection of the gum, hookworm, and disinfection of the wounds. This work evaluates the phytochemical constituents of the plant’s stem bark and the antioxidant properties of acetone, ethanol and methanol extracts of the plant part.  The stem bark extracts of the plant were obtained by cold sequential extraction using the solvents, acetone, ethanol and methanol in that order. The three solvents show ability to extract some components of the plant’s part, though and varied quantities. The result for the phytochemical screening shows that saponin, tannin, alkaloid, cardiac glycoside, flavonoids, phlobatannin some of the phytochemicals of the plant’s part and could be responsible for its medicinal properties. The investigation of antioxidants properties of the extracts show acetone, ethanol and methanol to exhibit 66.282%, 84.838%, 85.921% scavenging ability respectively at 100µg/cm3 compared with 97.437% of the standard, ascorbic acid. The extract therefore can be said to have good antioxidant property and hence can be applied in managing oxidative stress.