Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities of Secamone afzelii (Rhoem) Ascleipiadaceae

Secamone afzelii is used traditionally in Ghana mainly as a wound healing agent. This study reports the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of S. afzelii. The anti-inflammatory activity was determined by the carrageenan-induced paw oedema method in 7 day old chicks and antioxidant property by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, total antioxidant and total phenol content determinations. In doses of 30, 100 and 300 mg kg(-1), the methanol extract of the leaves reduced carrageenan-induced oedema by 24.70%, 33.41% and 44.26% respectively. The leaf extract exhibited free radical scavenging activity with an IC50 of 16.73 mu g mL(-1) compared to ascorbic acid which gave an IC50 of 2.01 mu g mL(-1). In the total phenol content determination, the leaf extract was found to contain 56.86 mg g(-1) calculated as tannic acid equivalent of the dry weight of extract. The extract also demonstrated remarkable antioxidant effect in the total antioxidant capacity determinations and had an 87% correlation with the amount of phenolic content present.