Evaluation of Nutraceutical content and topical Anti-inflammatory Activities of Turraea vogelii Hook F. Ex Benth (Meliaceae)

Background: Turraea vogelii has been used as traditional medicine for the treatment of ailments including wounds, stomach aches, malaria, infections, filariasis cutaneous, among others and, it serves as source of food. The present study aimed to evaluate the nutraceuticals content and topical anti-inflammatory effect of hydro-methanol twig extract of Turraea vogelii (METV). Method: METV was obtained using cold maceration with water and methanol in ratio 30:70. The concentration of vitamins A, C and E, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were evaluated by UV spectrophotometric method. Phenol and xylene-induced ear edema was used to evaluate the topical anti-inflammatory effect in mice. Results: The concentration of vitamins A, C and E was found to be 0.113 0.006, 9.303 0.012 and 0.020 0.001 mg in 100g of dried plant materials, respectively. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 0.281 0.318 mg/g gallic acid equivalent and 0.112  mg/g quercetin equivalent, respectively. Topical application of METV at a dose of 25 and 50mg/ear in xylene-induced ear edema produced significant inhibition (P<0.05) of 33 and 54% while in phenol-induced ear edema was significantly (P< 0.05) reduced by 44% and 34%. Dexamethasone (0.1mg/ear) produced an inhibition of 83% and 57% in phenol-induced ear edema. Conclusion: Results from this study demonstrated that Turraea vogelii twigs contain flavonoids and phenolic compounds, which may be responsible for the topical anti-inflammatory effect of the plant extract.