Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of selected polyherbal preparations: Oroki herbal, Swedish bitters and Yoyo bitters

Abstract

Godswill Nduka Anyasor, Babafemi Ogunbiyi, Ifeoluwani A. Akinlusi

Objective: Polyherbal preparations are extracts obtained from different medicinal plants. These herbal preparations are orally administered as a therapy against numerous oxidative stress and inflammation mediated diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Oroki herbal, Swedish bitters and Yoyo bitters using in vitro models. Methods: Antioxidant studies were conducted using total antioxidant capacity (TAC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 1’1’-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays while anti-inflammatory studies were performed using human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane stabilization and anti-denaturation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) assays. Results: Data showed that Oroki herbal had the highest TAC, inhibition of TBARS, FRAP absorbance range, DPPH scavenging activity while Swedish bitters had the highest stabilization of hypotonicity-induced hemolysis of HRBC and inhibition of heat-induced BSA denaturation when compared with other herbal preparations. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicated that Oroki herbal exhibited the highest antioxidant activity while Swedish bitters had the highest anti-inflammatory property in vitro. Furthermore, the medicinal properties of these polyherbal preparations could be attributed to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities that could mitigate against oxidative stress and inflammation mediated diseases.