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In this study, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts of Bersama abyssinica (Melianthaceae) stem bark were screened for enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant properties. The water extract possessed the highest concentration of phenols (230.83 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract), while the methanol extract was rich in flavonoids (75.82 mg rutin equivalent/g extract), and the ethyl acetate extract possessed the highest amount of saponins (97.37 mg quillaja equivalent/g). The aim of this study was to investigate the antiproliferative effects against the human colon cancer HCT116 cell line challenged with serotonin (5-HT) as a stimulating-proliferation factor. The level of HCT116 cell-deriving pool of kynurenic acid (KA) was also assessed. The UHPLC results confirmed the presence of 58, 68, and 63 compounds in the ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts, respectively. Mangiferin, vitexin and its isomer isovitexin were tentatively identified in all extracts and KA (m/z 190.05042 [M−H] + ) was also tentatively identified in the methanol and water extracts. The methanol extract (1464.08 mg Trolox equivalent [TE]/g extract) showed the highest activity in the CUPRAC assay, whereas the water extract (1063.70 mg TE/g extract) showed the highest activity with the FRAP technique. The ethyl acetate extract was the most active acetylcholinesterase (4.43 mg galantamine equivalent/g extract) and α-glucosidase (mmol acarbose equivalent /g extract) inhibitor. The water extract was able to inhibit 5-HT-stimulated viability of HCT116 cells, and blunt 5-HT-induced reduction of cell-deriving KA. The scientific data generated in this study provide baseline data regarding the biological properties of B. abyssinica stem bark, highlighting its potential use for the development of new pharmaceutic and cosmetic agents.

Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC.) Guill. & Perr. (Combretaceae) has a long history of use by folk populations for the management of multiple human ailments. Based on the published literature, there has been no attempt to conduct a comparative assessment of the biological activity and the phytochemical profiles of the leaves and stem bark of A. leiocarpus extracted using methanol, ethyl acetate, and water. By high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-ESI-MSn) analysis, quinic, shikimic, gallic, and protocatechuic acids were tentatively identified from all the extracts, while chlorogenic, caffeic, ferulic, and dodecanedioic acids were only characterised from the leaves extracts. Additionally, a pharmacological study was carried out to evaluate potential protective effects that are induced by the extracts in rat colon and colon cancer HCT116 cell line. In general, the methanol and water extracts of A. leiocarpus leaves and stem bark showed potent radical scavenging and reducing properties. It was noted that the stem bark extracts were more potent antioxidants as compared to the leaves extracts. The methanol extract of A. leiocarpus leaves showed the highest acetyl (4.68 mg galantamine equivalent/g) and butyryl (4.0 mg galantamine equivalent/g) cholinesterase inhibition. Among ethyl acetate extracts, the pharmacological investigation suggested stem bark ethyl acetate extracts to be the most promising. This extract revealed ability to protect rat colon from lipopolysaccharide-induced oxidative stress, without exerting promoting effects on HCT116 cell line viability and migration. As a conclusion, A. leiocarpus represents a potential source of bioactive compounds in the development of novel therapeutic agents.