Abstract

Recently, medicinal plants are gaining considerable attention for their therapeutic antioxidant activities. Though many studies have investigated the pharmacological and medicinal activities of Pterocarpus soyauxii and Pterocarpus santalinoides, there is limited knowledge of their antioxidant potential. Hence, this study aimed to assess the polyphenol content and investigate the in vitro antioxidant activity of these plants. Aqueous-ethanol extracts of the plants#x2019; leaves were obtained by maceration. The total flavonoid content (TFdC) and total flavonol content (TFlC) of the leaf extracts were determined by standard methods, while ferric reducing power and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays were used to assess their in vitro antioxidant potentials. The mean TFdC of P. santalinoides (1083.33 #xB1; 35.12 mg/g) was higher than that of P. soyauxii (730 #xB1; 40 mg/g), while the mean TFlC was higher in P. soyauxii (390 #xB1; 60.83 mg/g) than in P. santalinoides (260 #xB1; 45.83 mg/g). The reducing potential of extracts of P. santalinoides was significantly higher (p lt; 0.05) than that of P. soyauxii, as well as the standard compound, at all concentrations tested. The hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity of P. santalinoides was superior to that of P. soyauxii, as well as ascorbic acid. The results of this study suggest that P. soyauxii and P. santalinoides are rich in flavonoids and flavonols and exhibit potent hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity and ferric reducing capacity, with the later showing greater activities. These properties may contribute to the therapeutic potential and medicinal applications of these plants and suggests a potential drug candidacy of flavonoid compounds of these species of Pterocarpus.