Author(s): Alli Smith YR, Aluko BT and Faleye FJ

Abstract: Oxidation of lipid has been found to be a crucial step in the pathogenesis of several diseased conditions. A good number of pro-oxidants are known to cause oxidative damage to biomolecules such as proteins, lipids and DNA. This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect and other antioxidant potentials of ethanolic extract of Ficus exasperata leaves against pro-oxidant [Iron (Fe²⁺),Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), and Sodium nitroprusside (SNP)] induced lipid peroxidation in cerebral and hepatic tissues of albino rats. An aliquot of 100µl of clear supernatant of the tissue homogenates were incubated for 1hr at 37⁰C in the presence of the extract with and without pro-oxidants, iron and hydrogen peroxide (final concentration 10µM), and sodium nitroprusside (final concentration 30µM) to determine the extent of lipid peroxidation. The phenol content, flavonoids content, ferric reducing ability, iron chelating properties, DPPH and ABTS scavenging abilities of the extract were also evaluated. The results shows that incubation of the tissue homogenates with the pro-oxidants caused significant (P<0.05) increase in levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), while administration of the extracts provided a significant protection to TBARS levels in the tissues, indicating a protective inhibitory potentials on the pro-oxidants. The extracts at different concentrations demonstrated significant antioxidant potentials, indicating their abilities to act as radical scavengers and chelators. Ethanolic extracts of Ficus exasperata could be a potential antioxidant candidate that could help in the management of degenerative diseases whose etiology has been linked to oxidative stress.