EVALUATION OF IN-VITRO ANTIOXIDANT, DIURETIC PROPERTIES AND PHYTOCHEMICAL CONTENT OF ETHANOL EXTRACT OF Gongronema latifolium LEAVES ON WISTAR ALBINO RATS

Medicinal herbs are the significant source Diuretics, phytochemicals and antioxidants. Gongronema latifolium had been widely used for its reported biological activities in indigenous system of medicine. The diuretics, phytochemicals and antioxidant properties were evaluated considering their possible contribution to improve the use of herbal products in treatment of diseases. The phytochemical properties such as Tannins, Alkaloids, saponin, steroids, flavonoids, glycosides and terpenoid were observed to be present after the qualitative analysis on the plant extract. The antioxidant activity was determined using nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activities. The plant extract showed 93.18% inhibition in nitric oxide at highest (200 µg/ml) used. This is higher when compared to DPPH and lipid peroxidation extract which are 90.652 and 90.99 mg respectively. The percentage inhibition of the plant extract showed low inhibition concentration as against 50% (IC50). Seven groups of two rats each was used for diuretic study. Ethanol leaf extract was administered intra-peritoneally to the rats at doses of 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight respectively. Furosemide (40mg/kg) was used as positive control. This was evaluated by measuring the urine volume and urinary electrolyte excretion. The extracts produced a significant increase in urine volume at 200 and 400 mg/kg (1.50 and 1.90) respectively and enhanced urinary excretion of sodium, chloride, potassium and bicarbonate (p<0.05). The result obtained showed that Gongronema latifolium has potential and significant phytochemical, antioxidant and diuretic properties.