ABSTRACT
Picralima nitida has a wide ranges of application in West Africa traditional medicine. This research is a comparative evaluation of the photochemical, antioxidant study, and antimalarial study. The leaves and stem bark of the plant was successfully extracted with methanol using cold extraction technique. The phytochemicals analysis, Antioxidant study and anti-malarial study of P.nitida extract were determined using established methods. The phytochemical screening of the water extract of the leaves gave alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, tannins, phenolic compounds, protein and carbohydrates while ethyl acetate extract gave reducing sugar, tannins, phenolic compounds, protein, glycosides and carbohydrate. The phytochemical of screening of water extract of the stem bark gave alkaloids, saponins, reducing sugar, protein, glycosides, and carbohydrate. The antioxidant potential was examined by 1,1 diphenyl-2-picryhydrozyl (DPPH) radical scavenging methods, the antioxidant potential at 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1µg/mL gave an IC50 of 314.08±2.13µg/mL, 73.09±12.06µg/mL and 138.34±7.94µg/mL for standard, leaves and stem bark extract respectively. Picralima nitida leaves and stem bark extract was evaluated for in vivo anti-malarial acting against P. berghei infectedmice using the 4-days suppressive test. Different does (200mg/kg, 400mg/kg, 800mg/kg) of Picralima nitida leaves and stem bark extract were administered to the mice after a parasite inoculation. A maximum parasitamiae suppression of 37.88% was observed at 200mg/kg, 38.80% for 400mg/kg and 47.91% for 800mg/kg for the leaves extract while 42.39% was observed at 200mg/kg , 53.08% at 400mg/kg and 58.34% at 800mg/kg for the stem bark extract. The stem bark extract gave a higher average chemo-suppressive of 53.34% when compare to the leaves with 47.00mg/kg.
