Comparative phytochemical profiling and antioxidant activity of ethanol extracts of three parts of Dracaena arborea (Willd.) link

Abstract

Dracaena arborea is a known boundary plant which grows in arid semi-desert areas and used by the indigenous people of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, for the management of edematous diseases that come with pain. The ethanol extracts of D. arborea were analyzed to study their secondary metabolites. Antioxidant effect was studied using 2,2–diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, ferric reducing
antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and their total phenolic and flavonoid contents also determined. Result of phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, saponins and tannins in the studied parts of D. arborea except that, stem was devoid of flavonoids. Also, the result of DPPH assay revealed the percentage inhibition of 58% for the leaf extract, 33% for the stem extract and 17% for the root extract at 100 µg/mL when compared with the blank and the result was comparable to ascorbic acid with a percentage inhibition of 62%. For the FRAP assay, the leaf extract (0.445 nm) showed a better activity than the stem extract (0.399 nm) and root extract (0.427nm) when compared to ascorbic acid (0.913nm), a standard antioxidant agent at 100 µg/mL. Extracts revealed total flavonoid contents of 52 mgRTE/g for leaf extract while the stem and root had 5 mgRTE/g and 50mgRTE/g, respectively. This study supports the use of these parts of D. arborea for its folkloric applications in ethnomedicine.