Picralima nitida
commonly called picralima or pile plant is a tree or shrub with widely varied
applications in West African folk medicine. The study evaluated the free radical scavenging activities of the crude
methanol extract of
Picralima nitida root bark and its various fractions. The methanol extract of
P. nitida and its
fractions were subjected to in vitro antioxidant evaluation using the DPPH free radical scavenging method. The
IC-50 values for the percentage radical scavenging effects for the extract and fractions were determined. Statistical
significance between the IC-50 values of the extract/fractions and that of ascorbic acid (standard) was determined
using regression analysis. The crude extract has IC-50 value for radical scavenging activity of 5 µg/mL which was
significantly higher than that of ascorbic acid (2.55 µg/mL). However, the percentage inhibition of the crude extract
and ascorbic acid (standard) showed no significant difference.
Picralima nitida has the potential for use as natural
plant antioxidants in preventing against free radical damage.
