Nitiema et al Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics. 2023; 13(12):148-155 ISSN: 2250-1177 [148] CODEN (USA): JDDTAO Available online on 15.12.2023 at http://jddtonline.info Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics Open Access to Pharmaceutical and Medical Research Copyright © 2023 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited Open Access Full Text Article Research Article Phytochemical profile, acute oral toxicity, antioxidant, and antispasmodic effects of ethyl acetate and aqueous residual fractions of Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. DC (Ebenaceae) leaves on isolated duodenum of rat Mathieu NITIEMA 1,3 * , Windingoudi Rimwagna Christian OUEDRAOGO 1 , Rainatou BOLY 1 , Pegdwende Esther OUEDRAOGO 2 , Oumarou MAMAN NOURA 1 , Boukare KABORE 1 , Wendkouni Leila Marie Esther BELEM-KABRE 1 , Tata Kadiatou TRAORE 1 , Souleymane COMPAORE 1 , Moumouni KOALA 1 , Bruno NE BIE 3 , Abdel Magid Arsene OUOBA 2,4 , Makumbu Joseph MAKAYA 2 , Lazare BELEMNABA 1 , and Sylvin OUEDRAOGO 1 1 Laboratoire de Recherche-Développement de Phytomédicaments et Médicaments, IRSS/CNRST, 03 BP 7047 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso 2 UFR/Science et Technologie, Université Aube Nouvelle, 06 BP 9283 Ouagadougou 06, Burkina Faso 3 Initiative pour la Résilience et la Gouvernance - IRG, 11 BP 1692 CMS Ouagadougou 11, Burkina Faso 4 Ecole Doctorale Sciences et Techniques, Laboratoire de Biochimie et Chimie Appliquées (LABIOCA), Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, 03 BP 7021 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso Article Info: ____________________________________________ Article History: Received 21 Sep 2023 Reviewed 07 Nov 2023 Accepted 29 Nov 2023 Published 15 Dec 2023 ____________________________________________ Cite this article as: Nitiema M, Ouedraogo WRC, Boly R, Ouedraogo PE, Maman Noura O, Kabore B, Belem-Kabre WLME, Traore TK, Compaore S, Koala M, Nebie B, Ouoba AMA, Makaya MJ, Belemnaba L, Ouedraogo S, Phytochemical profile, acute oral toxicity, antioxidant, and antispasmodic effects of ethyl acetate and aqueous residual fractions of Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. DC (Ebenaceae) leaves on isolated duodenum of rat, Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics. 2023; 13(12):148-155 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v13i12.6136 ____________________________________________ *Address for Correspondence: Mathieu NITIEMA, Laboratoire de Recherche- Developpement de Phytomedicaments et Medicaments, IRSS/CNRST, 03 BP 7047 Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso Abstract ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction: Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. Rich (Ebenaceae) is a nutritional, artisanal and medicinal plant. It is used in alternative medicine in Burkina Faso for the treatment of conjunctivitis, menorrhagia, dysentery, and especially diarrhea. Aims: Our study aimed to evaluate the chemical profile, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, the safety of use, and the spasmolytic effects of the fractions obtained from the aqueous decoction of the leaves of Diospyros mespiliformis. Methods: Phytochemical screening by HPTLC and the determination of compounds of interest were carried out. The antioxidant activity was evaluated according to the ABTS, DPPH, FRAP, and LPO methods. The inhibitory activity of Phospholipase A2 and 15-lipoxygenase was evaluated. Acute oral toxicity was carried out on female mice (NMRI). The ex vivo spasmolytic effect of the fractions was tested on isolated rat duodenum using ACh and BaCl2 as contracting agents. Results: At the end of these tests, the fractions contain flavonoids, tannins, sterols, triterpenes, and saponosides. The content of total phenolics was respectively for the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and the residual aqueous fraction (RAF) 84.15±1.73 mg EAT/g and 89.67±2.35 mg EAT/g. That of flavonoids was respectively 45.91 ± 0.98 mg EQ/g and 10.46±0.28 mg EQ/g for the two fractions. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of EAF for the ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP tests were 2.26±0.16 μg/mL, 22.34±7.23 μg/mL and 1136.25±0.90 mol EAA/g respectively, and an inhibition % of 43.80 ± 6.31% for LPO. For RAF, the IC50 were in the same range as EAF of 16.82±0.23 μg/mL, 18.58±2.91 μg/mL, 1138.4±1.27 mol EAA/g and an inhibition of 45.14±10.35% for LPO. The fractions had an inhibitory effect on phospholipase A2 compared to Betamethasone. Finally, the most active EAF caused a spasmolytic effect with Emax of 87.4±15.71% and 90.40±7.84%, respectively, during contractions induced by BaCl2 and ACh. Conclusion: Finally, this work provided scientific data and could justify the use of D. mespiliformis leaves in the treatment of diarrhea. Keywords: Diospyros mespiliformis, Leaves, Antioxidants, Anti-inflammatory, Safety of use, Spasmolytic INTRODUCTION In alternative medicine, plants are a source of bioactive compounds. In fact, 80% of the population in developing countries rely on these bioactive compounds for their healthcare 1 . Gastrointestinal diseases also figure prominently among the population's various ailments. In 2019, there were 8 million deaths from digestive diseases, and this figure is not in decline over three decades 2 . The spasmolytic effect of drugs is commonly used to reduce excessive contractility of the intestine, responsible for cramps and discomfort in the abdominal region 3 . Several strategies are used in this treatment, both in modern and traditional medicine, using medicinal plants. In scientific terms, ethnobotanical, biochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological studies and clinical trials have been conducted to provide evidence of the use of plant drugs 4-6 . To this end, among the plant species widely used for their medicinal properties is Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst. ex A. DC (Ebenaceae) 6 . Studies carried out on this plant have demonstrated the anti-proliferative properties of trunk bark extracts 7 and the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of organic leaf extracts 6, 8 . The anti-