Evaluation of antioxidant potentials of different solvent-fractions of Dialium indium (African Black velvet tamarind) fruit pulp - in vitro

Plant phytonutrients have been harnessed for their various curative properties both in vitro and in vivo. In this study African black velvet tamarind (ABVT) fruit pulp was evaluated for it antioxidant potentials using chloroform and hexane fractions through different antioxidant parameters. In the results; total phenolic contents quantified in mg GAE/dried sample in chloroform and hexane extracts were; 14.57 ±5.85 and 9.78 ±4.61, total flavonoid contents in chloroform and hexane extracts as; 48.58 ±0.00 and 27.35 ±0.00 while the FRAP (µg AAE.g-1 dried sample) was lower in chloroform (298.10 ±0.00) than hexane extracts (1029.81 ±0.00). More also, ability of varied concentrations of the extracts (with their IC50) to cause inhibition against Fe2+-induced MDA that was determined by TBARS in rat's brain and liver tissue homogenates, Fe2+-chelating ability and other antioxidant assays, showed an appreciable significant (p <0.05) difference. The various antioxidant properties showed by ABVT has indicated that, if the pulp is incorporated in diet, it could serve as an alternative in managing various ROS-induced degenerative ailments as it has been clearly demonstrated in the protection of brain and liver homogenates from Fe2+-induced oxidative stress.