Antidiabetic, and radical scavenging activity of Kigelia africana fruit fractions.

Background: Traditional medicine is gaining traction in Africa. 92.1% of diabetes patients at the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia use herbal medicine. Kigelia africana is a botanical species used in traditional medicine for diabetes due to its phytochemical composition. This study aimed to determine the phytoconstituents, radical scavenging activities, total flavonoid concentration, and total phenolic content of the antidiabetic bioactive Kigelia africana fruit fractions. Methods: Using UV spectrophotometer we determined the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and free radical scavenging activity. Alloxan-induced diabetes rat models were used to determine the antidiabetic effect in vivo. Phytoconstituent analysis was via gas-chromatography Mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) Results: The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated superior antidiabetic activity, reducing blood glucose levels from 28.42±2.7 mmol/l to 8.16±4.4 mmol/l. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the ethyl acetate fraction and Glibenclamide,(p=0.152). Although the ethyl acetate fraction had a higher reading, there was no statistically significant difference found in Total Phenolic content (TPC) (p=0.3) and Total Flavonoid content (TFC) (p=0.06). IC50 values for DPPH were 0.05330 (chloroform), 0.05352 (ethyl acetate), and 0.4013 (butanol). GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of important fatty acids, methyl furfural, furan carboxylic acid and 4-pyran-4-one derivatives. Conclusion: The GC-MS fingerprint of the antidiabetic fractions revealed important fatty acids and phenolic compounds that could be attributed to the observed antidiabetic activity.