ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF GOUANIA LONGIPETALA HEMSL

Background: Gouania longipetala Hemsl. (Rhamnaceae), has ethnomedicinal use in the treatment of wounds, gonorrhoea, abdominal pain, lumbago, ophthalmia, conjunctivitis, and rickets. However, no scientific investigation of these effects has been established. Our aim was to verify the antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the stem of Gouania longipetala.  Methods: The antibacterial effect of the 70% ethanolic extract was studied using the agar well diffusion and micro dilution assays. The extract was also tested in vitro for its free radical scavenging effect, total antioxidant capacity and total phenol content. The extract activity in acute inflammation was assessed using the carrageenan-induced foot oedema in chicks.  Results: The 70% ethanollic extract showed antibacterial effect against the test organisms with the lowest MIC of 125 µg/mL against Bacillus subtilis NCTC 10073. The total antioxidant capacity was 0.80 mg/g ascorbic acid equivalent. The extract demonstrated free radical scavenging activity yielding IC50 value of 0.004 mg/mL. In the total phenol content assay, tannic acid equivalent was 52.02mg/g and correlated highly with its total antioxidant capacity. In the anti-inflammatory assay, the extract gave a maximal inhibitory effect of total oedema by 93.78% at 300 mg/kg. Conclusions: The results indicated that the extract possessed antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may give credence to some of its ethnopharmacological uses.