Antioxidant Activity of Diet Formulated from Selected Leafy Vegetables Commonly Available and Consumed in Abakaliki, Nigeria.

Abstract

The antioxidant effects of diet formulated from five leafy vegetables: Vitex doniana (Uchakiri), Ceiba pentandra (Akpuota), Ficus ottoniifolia (Ogbu), Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides (Uko) and Sesamum alatum (Oboroto), commonly available and extensively consumed in the rural areas of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, were studied using albino rats. A total of 84 rats (mean weight = 133.22 ± 0.33k g) assigned into seven groups of 12 rats per group were investigated. While group I was normal, groups II – VII were made diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (200 mg/Kg body weight). Groups III-VII were administered graded concentrations (10 %, 15 % and 20 % w/w) of feed/powdered leaves mixture of the respective vegetables, while groups I & II served as non-diabetic and diabetic controls respectively and received normal rat feed. Feeding of the animals was done for twenty one days (21), after which the serum levels of malonylaldehyde (MDA), vitamin C, and total antioxidant activities (TAA) were determined using standard laboratory methods. The result showed that MDA levels were significantly (p< 0.05) lower in all the groups treated with the experimental diets, while vitamin C and antioxidant activities were significantly higher when compared with the diabetic controls. Ceiba pentandra and S. alatum showed the highest and lowest antioxidant activities, respectively. The results suggest appreciable antioxidant potentials of the vegetables, which could be of importance in the management of oxidative stress in diabetic condition.