South Asian Research Journal of Natural Products

The medicinal properties of Spondias mombin Linn leaves have been recognized historically, particularly in cancer treatment, diarrhea, and diabetes management. The purpose of this study is to investigate the chemical constituents using GC-MS and HPLC, assess the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of S. mombin n-hexane and methanol leaf extracts in animal models. Antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH, hydrogen peroxide and ABTS scavenging activity assays while the anti-inflammatory potential was assessed using acetic acid-induced vascular permeability and carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats. GC-MS analysis detected 10-octadecenoic acid methyl ester, 11,14-octadecadienoic acid methyl ester and phytol, as the main compounds in the methanol extract; while tricyclo[8.6.0.0(2,9)]hexadeca-3,15-diene, phytol, and hexadecanoic acid methyl ester are present as key compounds in the n-hexane extract. The HPLC methanol extract profile identified quercetin, kaempferol, naringenin, luteolin (flavonoids) along with cholesterol, saponin and maleic acid as the major bioactive compounds. Both leaf extracts demonstrated a concentration-dependent increase in radical scavenging activities indicating a noteworthy antioxidant property. The methanol extract demonstrated significantly higher levels of total phenolics (185.194 ± 0.271 mg/g gallic acid), flavonoids (130.568 ± 0.744 mg/g rutin) and overall antioxidant capacity (58.389 ± 0.292 mg/g ascorbic acid) than the n-hexane extract. Furthermore, the methanol extract demonstrated promising anti-inflammatory effects, particularly at the 400 mg/kg dose, substantially inhibiting paw edema in the carrageenan-induced and acetic acid-induced vascular permeability models. Presence of various bioactive compounds suggest that S. mombin leaves could be valuable natural sources of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, potentially useful in managing oxidative stress and inflammatory conditions.