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Background  In South Africa,  Calpurnia aurea  (Ait.) Benth is used to destroy lice and to relieve itches, to destroy maggots and to treat allergic rashes, particularly those caused by caterpillars. Antioxidants play an important role protecting against damage by reactive oxygen species. Plants containing flavonoids have been reported to possess strong antioxidant properties.    Methods  The antibacterial, antioxidant activities and phenolic contents of the methanol extracts of the leaves and stems of  Calpurnia aurea  were evaluated using in vitro standard methods. Spectrophotometry was the basis for the determinations of total phenol, total flavonoids, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins. Tannins, quercetin and catechin equivalents were used for these parameters. The antioxidant activities of the stem extract of  Calpurnia aurea  were determined by ABTS, DPPH, and ferrous reducing antioxidant property (FRAP) methods. Laboratory isolates of 10 bacteria species which included five Gram-positive and five Gram-negative strains were used to assay for antibacterial activity of this plant.    Results  The results from this study showed that the antioxidant activities of the stem extract of  Calpurnia aurea  as determined by the total phenol, flavonoids, and FRAP methods were higher than that of the leaves. On the other hand, the leaf extract of the plant has higher level of total flavonols and proanthocyanidins. The leaf extract also has higher radical scavenging activity as shown in 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2¿-azinobis-3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay. The leaf extract showed activity against seven of the bacterial organisms.    Conclusion  The results from this study indicate that the leaves and stem extracts of  Calpurnia aurea  possess antioxidant properties and could serve as free radical inhibitors or scavenger or, acting possibly as primary antioxidants. Although, the antibacterial properties of  Calpurnia aurea  are not as effective as the standard drugs- Chloramphenicol and Streptomycin, they still possess some activity against bacterial strains used in this study.  Calpurnia aurea  may therefore be a good candidate for functional foods as well as pharmaceutical plant-based products.

Antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the methanol extracts of the leaves and stems of Calpurnia aurea