Proximate analysis, phytochemical content and the antioxidant effect of Alchornea Cordifolia methanol leaf extract in sickle cell disease management

The proximate analysis, phytochemical and antioxidant effect of Alchornea cordifolia leaf methanol extract were investigated and their effects on sickle cell hemoglobin polymerization observed. Alchornea cordifolia leaf was sourced from a horticulturist in a horticulture garden along Okigwe road in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The voucher specimen was identified, classified and authenticated by a professional taxonomist at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo, Imo State. The sample was first dried at room temperature to constant weight, ground into powder and soaked in methanol for 24 hours to obtain the methanol soluble fraction. Amino acid composition was determined for the sample, using gas chromatography which revealed a preponderance of both essential and non-essential amino acids of which some were antisickling amino acids of varying concentrations. All values were expressed in g/100 g of sample. The identified amino acids include: Phenylalanine, Histidine, Leucine, Lysine, Tryptophan, Isoleucine, Valine, Methionine, Proline, Arginine, Tyrosine, Serine and others. The different concentration of Alchornea cordifolia leaf methanol extracts were able to inhibit HbSS polymerization at varying degrees, when compare to the normal control and Ciklavit^TM, which was used as a standard. The results of the percentage polymerization inhibition showed that 100 mg/dose, 200 mg/dose and 400 mg/dose of a Alchornea cordifolia leaf methanol extracts inhibited sickle cell polymerization by 51.85 ± 1.08, 43.21 ± 0.56 and 35.81 ± 0.58 respectively. Alchornea cordifolia leaf methanol extracts is nutritionally rich in both essential and non-essential amino acids, phytochemicals and antioxidants enzymes and vitamins, that may possess anti-oxidative properties that may have contributed in no small measure to the high antisickling profile of the extract especially in terms of improvement in the F_e²⁺/F_e³⁺ ratio from 84.88% to 87.91% and reduction in hemoglobin polymerization from 61.73% (Ciklavit^TM) standard to 48.15 % (100 mg/dose) Alchornea cordifolia leaf methanol extracts. Alchornea Cordifolia leaf should be employed in the management of sickle cell disease and other related diseases like anemia and thalassemia.