June 2025
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1 Citation
Letters in Applied NanoBioScience
Gouania longispicata Engl. (G. longispicata) is one of the understudied medicinal lianas used in Africa for the treatment of more than 40 ailments, including oxidative stress-induced conditions. We herein report for the first time on the total polyphenolic content, antioxidant potential and acute toxicity of G. longispicata aqueous and methanolic leaf extracts. The extracts were assessed for their total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) using Folin-Ciocalteu method and aluminium chloride colorimetric assay, respectively. The antioxidant potential of the extracts were quantified using the DPPH, ferric reducing antioxidant power and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays while acute toxicity test followed the Lorke method. The highest TPC (75.26±0.420 GAE µg/g DW) and TFC (60.12±0.012 QE µg/g DW) were for the methanolic extract (P<0.05). Antioxidant activity was highest for the aqueous extract, with minimum inhibitory concentration of 187.12±0.08 μg/mL. Our results showed that the median lethal dose of all the extracts was higher than 5000 mg/kg, suggesting that they were not potentially toxic. We recommend further studies should perform phytochemical studies on the leaf extracts of this species to identify the responsible bioactive compounds.