Phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activities of crude extracts from Acacia Senegal leaf extracts

Background: Acacia Senegal (Fabaceae) Wild is a leguminous tree with economic values, but its leaves are under-utilised. Objective: To investigate the phytochemical constituents and antioxidant potential of crude extracts from A. Senegal's leaves. Methods: Methanol and acetone crude extracts of leaves of A. Senegal were prepared by maceration using organic solvents, methanol and acetone respectively. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the crude extracts were evaluated using Association of Agricultural and Chemist (AOAC) protocols. Antioxidant activities of the crude extracts were determined using 2, 2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) respectively. Results: The crude extracts (acetone and methanol) showed vary quality of phytochemical constituent including flavonoid, alkaloids, carbohydrate, saponins, tannin, steroids, and terpenoids. Acetone crude possessed significant (P < 0.05) higher total flavonoid and proanthocyanidin content in comparison with methanol extracts. Whereas, methanol crude extract possessed significant higher total phenol content compared with acetone crude extract. The crude extracts showed antioxidant activities as evidence in scavenging ABTS and DPPH radicals. However, acetone crude with lower IC₅₀ of 0.09 mg/mL possessed significant higher ABTS scavenging ability compared to methanol (0.07 mg/mL) and ascorbic acid (0.07 mg/mL). Conclusion: The crude extracts could serve as a promising natural antioxidant agent in management of oxidative stress diseases. For further studies, bioactive compounds need to be ascertained.