Abstract
Natural antioxidants derived from plants hold significant pharmacological relevance and exhibit high efficacy in treating chronic and infectious health aberrations. Across Africa, plants like Solanum erianthum are gaining recognition in traditional medicine for their ability to manage impaired health conditions due to their rich phytochemical composition. This laboratory-based research aimed to isolate the secondary metabolites from the aqueous leaf extract of Solanum erianthum and evaluate its in-vitro free radical scavenging capacity. Preliminary phytochemical screening, along with HPLC fingerprinting, was employed to identify and quantify the active compounds present in the plant sample. The antioxidant capacity of the extract was assessed using 2,2′-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) analytical techniques. The leaf extract of S. erianthum was found to contain a diverse array of secondary metabolites, with phenols (153.91 ± 0.00 mg/g) as the most prominent. The HPLC assay identified nine phytochemicals, with phenolics present in the highest amount. The IC₅₀ value of the extract using the ABTS assay was 141.08 µg/mL, which was greater than the Ascorbic acid standard (IC₅₀ = 97.66 µg/mL). The FRAP antioxidant analysis revealed an increasing free radical neutralization activity with rising concentration levels. The results obtained from this study provide scientific information on the antioxidant strength of the aqueous extract of Solanum erianthum leaves, highlighting their substantial health-restoring capacity.

Key words: antioxidant, hplc, phytochemicals, ethnomedicine, phenolics