Launaea taraxacifolia; a Neglected Vegetable from Nigeria, its Antiinflammatory and Antioxidant Activities

Abstract

Part of health care structures globally are medicinal plants; these are very commonly employed against array of diseases in developing countries like Nigeria. Wild lettuce (Launaea taraxacifolia) is grown mostly in West Africa, it is call “Efo Yarin” in Yoruba Language of Nigeria. This plant is commonly used as leafy vegetable, soup and sauces but its medicinal potentials are untapped. The goal of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of the leaves of L. taraxacifolia. Its antioxidant activity was tested by 2, 2′-azinobis-( 3-ethyl) benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and anti-inflammatory disposition by employing inhibitory of lypoxygenase. The IC₅₀ value for the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract is significant (30.06 μg/mL) when compared with that of the positive control 25.25 μg/mL (Indomethacin), the extract showed a good antioxidant effect with an IC₅₀ of 70.59 μg/mL, ascorbic acid was used as a positive control (62.83 μg/mL). This study makes available new insights on the use of L. taraxacifolia, a commonly used medicinal plant in many countries of West Africa. The phytochemistry of this wild vegetable is largely unknown except for few screening done by few authors.

Keywords: L. taraxacifolia; ABTS, lypoxygenase; anti-inflammatory and Wild lettuce