The effect of blending of extracts of Sudanese Adansonia digitata and Tamarindus indica on their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities

Abstract

Adansonia digitata (Bombacaceae) and Tamarindus indica (Fabaceae) are the most popular herbal products in Sudan; they are used as food ingredients and in traditional treatments of various diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate phytochemical contents, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of plants fruit, leaf and bark ethanolic extracts. The phytochemical screening of different extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, sterols/triterpens, tannins, saponins, coumarins, glycosides, reducing sugar, lignin and carbohydrates. The results indicate that all the extracts have reducing power DPPH radical scavenging abilities. The highest antioxidant activity showed in A. digitata parts. The fruit extracts of both plants showed the highest antioxidant activity (84.07 and 83.98% for A. digitata and T. indica, respectively). The in vitro anti-inflammatory effects have been studied by human albumin denaturation, and both plant extracts showed remarkable activity. Leaf extracts showed highest anti-inflammatory activity (76.714, 62 and 82.71% for A. digitata, T. indica and mixture of both respectively). The results of antimicrobial activity showed the effectiveness of mixture extracts against tested standard pathogens. Fruit mixtures showed the highest activity against B. subtilis (19 mm), S. aureus (35 mm) and S. typhi (21 mm), while the mixture of bark extracts showed the highest activity against E. coli (19 mm). It is noteworthy that higher antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities have been observed by blends in the ratio 1:1 of fruit, leaf and bark extracts of both plants. Key words: Adansonia digitata, Tamarindus indica, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, combination.