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ABSTRACT
Hunteria Umbellata seeds is highly valued in African herbal medicine in the management of inflammation, diabetes and obesity. This study investigated the effect of aqueous extract of Hunteria umbellata seed on antioxidant biomarkers in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into three groups: a control group receiving no extract, and two treatment groups receiving 100mg/kg and 300mg/kg of the extract, respectively. Each group contained 5 animals. Feeding and administration were by oral gavage for 6 weeks. Weight measurement was done before the animals were humanely sacrificed using chloroform anaesthesia and 5ml of blood collected for biochemical analyses. After the administration period, levels of key antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), as well as malondialdehyde (MDA), were measured in the plasma. Statistical analysis was performed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for assessing differences amongst groups, followed by Tukey’s test using Graphpad Prism 10.3 statistical software. Results revealed that administration of Hunteria umbellata seed extract led to dose-dependent changes in antioxidant biomarkers, with statiscally insignificant alterations observed in SOD, GPx, and MDA levels compared to the control group. However, the result showed a statistically significant decrease in CAT in group 2. Administration of Hunteria umbellata resulted in no statistically significant difference in superoxide dismutase in animals treated with 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg Hunteria umbellata compared to control (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in glutathione peroxidase in animals treated with 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg Hunteria umbellata compared to control (p>0.05). Malondialdehyde in animals treated with 100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg Hunteria umbellata compared to control, also revealed no statiscally significant difference(p>0.05). These findings suggest that the aqueous extract of Hunteria umbellata seed may possess antioxidant properties and could potentially be utilized as a natural antioxidant supplement to combat oxidative stress-related disorders.
