Phytochemical, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity and Antimicrobial Investigations of Tephrosia platycarpa GUILL. & PERR.

Abstract

Tephrosia genus belongs to the family Fabaceae and plants in this genus have been reported to possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and pesticidal properties, however; there is paucity of information on the chemical and biological activities of Tephrosia platycarpa. Thus, this study was aimed at investigating the phytochemical and biological properties of Tephrosia platycarpa. The plant was collected at Ile’gbon, Ibadan, Nigeria and authenticated at Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FHI-112653), air-dried and pulverized. Extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol successively. The extracts were screened for phytochemicals, antioxidant, cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities. Phytochemical screening of the crude extracts showed that they are rich in secondary metabolites. The antioxidant assay showed that extracts of the stems and leaves have strong activities against free radicals. Cytotoxicity assay revealed that the extracts of the stem are moderately toxic while roots extracts are highly toxic. The extracts displayed broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against the organisms tested.