Inhibitory Effects of Aqueous Extract of Bridelia ferruginea Stem Bark on Iron (II) Sulphate - Induced Oxidative Stress in Brain and Liver of Albino Wistar Rats

The antioxidant potential of Bridelia ferruginea, which is a widely used medicinal plant in Nigeria, sub-tropical Africa and parts of Asia was investigated using thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) assay. The aqueous extract of Bridelia ferruginea stem bark used in this study showed inhibition against the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) induced by Iron (II) sulphate in the liver and brain tissue homogenates of the locally bred male and female albino-Wistar rats used. The extract was discovered to have different antioxidant potentials in a manner that was concentration dependent. The aqueous extract of the plant showed a good percentage inhibition of 56.06% in the liver homogenate and 60.65% in the brain homogenate both at a concentration of 0.33 mg/ml using iron (II) sulphate as pro-oxidant with IC50 values of 3.00 ± 1.59 mg/ml for the liver and 3.00 ± 1.60 mg/ml for the brain. The result therefore suggests the medicinal benefit of Bridelia ferruginea in the treatment of various diseases induced by oxidative stress due to its ability to act as antioxidant.