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Abstract

This study investigated the radicals scavenging and erythrocyte membrane stabilizing properties of stem bark of A. altilis and leaf of S. alata. The plants were macerated in 80% EtOH/H2O at room temperature, evaporated under reduced pressure, lyophilized and partitioned to obtain n-hexane, DCM, EtOAc, n-BuOH and aqueous fractions respectively. In vitro radical scavenging and erythrocyte membrane stabilizing activities of extracts and fractions were carried out using colorimetric assay and hypotonicity and heat-induced haemolysis methods respectively. The results showed concentration-dependent radical scavenging activities. The EtOAc fractions of A. altilis and S. alata with IC50 values 0.68±0.07 and 1.55±0.38 mg/mL exhibited good NO radical scavenging properties and IC50 values of 0.25±0.05 and 0.49±0.13 mg/mL anti-lipid peroxidation activities, while the EtOAc and DCM fractions of A. altilis with IC50 2.22±0.05 and 3.67±0.19 mg/mL OH radical scavenging activities. The crude extracts, DCM and EtOAc fractions of both plants exhibited good protective activity on erythrocyte membrane in a dose-dependent manner compared with diclofenac. The results justify the ethnomedicinal use of the plants in polyhedral formulations for the management of oxidative stress-induced diseases.