Phenolic Contents, Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Desmodium ramosissimum Extract from Benin

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Résumé

Species of the genus Desmodium are generally used in the traditional Beninese pharmacopoeia for the treatment of many diseases, including infectious diseases. The objective of this work is to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities and cytotoxicity of Desmodium ramosissimum herb extract. Identification of phenolic compounds was achieved using HPLC. Ferric reduction/antioxidant power (FRAP) and the free radical DPPH essay were used to evaluate D. ramosissimum antioxidant activity. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in vitro by the albumin denaturation method using Diclofenac as a reference. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was evaluated with Artemia salina larvae. All the extracts have a remarkable antioxidant activity. However, the lowest IC50 values were obtained with the methanol (2.45 ± 0.14 µg/ml) and ethanol (2.5 ± 0.7 µg/ml) extracts. Furthermore, the hydroethanol extract showed the strongest anti-inflammatory activity at a rate of 92.99% ± 0.04% inhibition of albumin denaturation. Cytotoxic tests showed that no toxicity towards shrimp larvae was noticed. D. ramosissimum occupies an important place in the Beninese therapeutic arsenal. These results confirm the traditional use of these plants in Benin. Furthermore, D. ramosissimum opens up prospects for the search for active ingredients of plant origin with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Mots-clés

Medicinal Plant, Phytochemistry, Biological Activity, Desmodium ramosissimum, Benin