Evaluation Of Chemical Constituents And In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Property Of The Essential Oils Of Hibiscus Sabdariffa Seeds:- Joshua, Jephtha O

ABSTRACT Anti-inflammatory properties play major roles in counteracting the deleterious effects of chronic inflammation in biological systems; and the anti-inflammatory potentials of plants and plant parts are related to the phytoconstituents inherent in them. This study was therefore aimed at evaluating some chemical components and anti-inflammatory property of the essential oil of Hibiscus sabdariffa seeds (EOHSS) using heat—induced haemolysis assay. The essential oil of Hibiscus sabdariffa seeds (HSS) were subjected to phytochemical analysis using gas chromatography coupled to flame ion detector (FID) and mass spectrometer (MS). The total phenols, total flavonoids and the anti-inflammatory property were determined using standard methods. The anti-inflammatory property was examined using the heat—induced haemolysis assay at the concentrations of 10 — 80 mg/ml and Aspirin as reference standard. The experiments were conducted in triplicate. Data was subjected analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS, while values were presented as mean ± standard deviation. Significance was set at p<0.05. According to the results, EOHSS contain bioactive compounds including D-limonene (23.45 ug/ml), ferullic acid (26.27 ug/ml), vanillic acid (15.00 ug/ml), tyrosol (14.66 ppm), naringenin (19.24 ug/ml), epicathechin (9.25 ug/ml), ellagic acid (7.28 ug/ml) and beta pinene (8.04 ug/ml). Appreciable levels of phenols and flavonoids were also detected. The result ofthe heat-induced haemolysis assay of essential oil ofHibiscus sabdariffa seeds (EOHSS). From the result, there was a significant (p<0.05) dose- . dependent increase in anti-inflammatory response by EOFISS from 10 to 40 mg/ml and took a downturn at 80 mg/ml. The lowest anti-inflammatory activity was detected at 10 mg/mL with 16.81% inhibition, while the highest anti-inflammatory activity was detected at concentration of 40 mg/mL with 43.17% inhibition compared to the standard (42.03%). The heat-induced inhibition of haemoglobin by EOHSS at 40 mg/mL was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of the standard (42.03%). The relatively high phenol and flavonoid contents of EOHSS ■ in this study strongly contribute to its anti-inflammatory activity. Hence, it could be exploited for therapeutic purposes against inflammatory related diseases.