Background: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathophysiology of various disease conditions with concomitant toll on the body’s defense mechanism against free radicals. To continuously sustain and support the efficiency of the body’s antioxidant defense system, natural plant sources are required. Thus, the need for alternative options especially of plants that are neglected and under-utilized. Hence, this study aimed at investigating the proximate and phytochemical compositions and in-vivo antioxidant effect of ethanol leaf extract of C. olitorius on antioxidant enzyme activities in CCl4-induced oxidative stress in Wistar rats. Methods: Thirty albino rats of Wistar strain (120-150g) were divided into six groups (A – F) of five rats each. Groups A, B and C served as test groups and were administered 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg doses of C. olitorius leaf extract respectively while Group D served as normal control. Groups E and F served as the positive and negative controls and were administered 50 mg/kg Silymarin and distilled water respectively. The administration lasted for 15 days after which blood was collected via cardiac puncture. Results: Findings showed that the leaf was rich in total phenol (21.47 ± 0.00 mgGAE/g) and tannin (23.34 ± 0.75 mgTAE/g) with little quantity of oxalate (0.48 ± 0.09 mg/g), cardiac glycosides (0.30 ± 0.07 %) and phytate (0.25 ± 0.01 %). The result of the proximate composition revealed that the leaf was rich in carbohydrate (44.16 ± 1.21 %), ash (20.31 ± 0.51 %) and protein (11.29 ± 2.06 %) with negligible quantity of lipid (0.46 ± 0.11 %). More so, the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase were all increased in the extract treated group when compared to the controls. Conclusion: From the above findings, it can be concluded that the ethanol leaf extract of C. olitorius may possess exploitable nutritional components and potential antioxidant activity against the debilitating effects of free radicals.

Background: Chrysophyllum albidum has been widely consumed for its flesh part as a fruit snack and source of vitamins but also grossly under-utilized because of dearth of knowledge on nutritional and therapeutic potencies of other fruit parts. This study thus aimed to comparatively determine the nutritional, phytochemical and in vitro antioxidant properties of the flesh and cotyledon of C. albidum. Methods: Proximate and phytochemical contents were determined according to the methods of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (2000). Mineral concentrations were evaluated using Atom Analyzer according to the protocols of AOAC (2000). Antioxidant properties were assayed through the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging, reducing power and lipid peroxidation abilities according to the methods of Barros et al (2007). Results: Findings indicated a higher percentage contents of ash (3.83 ± 0.38), moisture (13.86 ± 0.84), crude fiber (11.07 ± 2.72) and crude protein (7.44 ± 0.44) in the flesh than the cotyledon of C. albidum, which were insignificantly different (p > 0.05). On the other hand, crude fat (13.80 ± 2.60) and total carbohydrate (64.96 ± 2.77) were found to be more in the cotyledon than the flesh but also not significantly different (p > 0.05). The mineral analysis revealed a higher but insignificantly different (p > 0.05) concentrations of iron (2.31 ± 0.22), copper (1.23 ± 0.09), zinc (2.94 ± 0.12) and potassium (1.48 ± 0.09) in the flesh than the cotyledon whereas cobalt (3.09 ± 0.92), magnesium (21.13 ± 0.58), sodium (16.27 ± 0.62) and selenium (4.24 ± 0.28) were more in the cotyledon than the flesh although insignificantly different (p > 0.05). While the flesh was observed to significantly contain high total phenol values, the cotyledon showed more significant mean values for tannin, oxalate, saponin and β-carotene than the flesh. The in vitro DPPH free radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition findings indicated higher antioxidant activities in the flesh than in the seed. Conclusion: Conclusively, the flesh and seed fruit parts of C. albidum showed considerable and significant amounts of the parameters under study, which can be further exploited for their nutritional and pharmacological essence.