Phenolic content and antioxidant potential of Sarcostigma kleinii Wight. & Arn

The objective of this study was to determine the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts from different parts of Sarcostigma kleinii (leaf, bark and fruit). The bark extract afforded the highest yield (22.78%+/- 2.09%) whilst the lowest yield was obtained from the fruit (12.66%+/- 0.52%) (p<0.05). The leaf extract showed the highest total phenolic ontent (24.4 +/- 0.34 mg Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) g extract) and total flavonoid content (68.70 +/- 3.37 lg Rutin equivalent (RE) g extract) as well as the best antioxidant activity through all antioxidant assays (p<0.05). These results suggest that methanolic extracts of S. kleinii leaf, bark and fruit may serve as a potential source of natural antioxidants for food and nutraceutical applications.