CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS AND IN VITRO ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CRUDE EXTRACTS AND COMPOUNDS FROM LEAVES AND STEM BARK OF FICUS BURTT-DAVYI.

Ficus buit-davyi, (Moraceae), is an endemic species of South Africa. In this study, a phytochemical analysis of the leaves and stem bark of F. burt-davyi resulted in the isolation of five triterpenes (lupeol, lupeol acetate, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and campesterol), one carotenoid (lutein), a pheophytin (phytyl-7-ethyl-25- (methoxycarbonyl)-3,8,13,17-tetramethyl-26-oxo- 12-vinyl-17,18-dihydro-2,20-ethanoporphyrin- 1 8-propanoate or pheophytin a) and one flavonoid (+)-catechin). The in viti antioxidant study of the methanol extracts of leaves and stem bark, (+)-catechin and pheophytin a using the 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and hydrogen peroxide (H202) assay showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) antioxidant activity for the methanol extract of the stem bark than the leaves, with IC55 values (in μg/mL) of 58.28 ? 5.05 for DPPH, 46.09 ± 0.06 for FRAP and 151.03 ± 1.60 pg/mL for H₂0₂,. The results suggest that the plant can be used as a therapeutic agent in alternative medicine for oxidative stress related degenerative diseases.