Comparative In Vitro Antioxidant and Trypanocidal Activities of N-hexane and Ethylacetate Extracts of Azadirachta indica on Trypanosoma brucei brucei.

Abstract

both humans and animals. In this study, phytochemical analysis, antioxidant analysis via ferric reducing antioxidant power, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and Inhibition of lipid peroxidation) as well as in vitro trypanocidal activities of n-hexane and ethylacetate extracts of Azadirachta indica (NAI and EAI) were carried out using standard methods. Blood obtained from infected donor mice was diluted with glucose phosphate buffered saline to contain 1x103 parasites. Exactly 20 µL of the blood sample contained parasite was incubated with varying concentrations of 62.5 µg/mL, 125 µg/mL, 250 µg/mL and 500 µg/mL of NAI and EAI in separate microtiter plates in triplicate for 190 minutes. The mixture was observed under microscope for parasite motility at 10 minutes intervals. Quantity of the phytochemicals are present in the following order; phenol > saponins > tannins > alkaloids > flavonoids in both samples while EAI showed high antioxidant activities. Complete cessation of the parasite motility was observed for all test concentrations within 190 minutes of the study. The most active extract was EAI which causes complete cessation within 50 minutes in 500 µg/mL while that of NAI was within 90 minutes in 500 µg/mL when compared with berenil that occurred within 10 minutes at 500 µg/ml. These results showed that EAI has high trypanocidal and antioxidant activities when compared with NAI. Hence, EAI could explored further for the treatment of African Animal Trypanosomiasis.