Vol 12, Issue 10, 2019 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF KIGELIA AFRICANA (LAM.) BENTH. EXTRACTS ON TM3 LEYDIG CELLS NELISIWE PRENATE MASUKU, SOGOLO LUCKY LEBELO* Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Cnr Christiaan de Wet and Pioneer Ave, Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, South Africa. Email: lebelol@unisa.ac.za Received: 16 May 2019, Revised and Accepted, 31 July 2019 ABSTRACT Objective: The study reports the effects of acetone, methanol, and aqueous Kigelia africana extracts on the TM3 Leydig cells. Methods: The total phenolic contents were determined using Folin–Ciocalteu’s method. Antioxidant activity was determined using 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl assay and flavonoid content assessed using quercetin as standard. Cell viability and cytotoxicity were assessed. Results: Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts were analyzed. Acetone extracts showed highest total phenolic content (105±3.65 mg gallic acid equivalent [GAE]/g) followed by methanol extracts (10.64±0.32 mg GAE/g) and, last, the water extract with the total phenolic content of 4.27±0.65 mg GAE/g. The same trend was observed with total flavonoid content where results recorded for acetone, methanol, and water extracts were 3.63 ±0.20 mg/g quercetin equivalent (QE), 0.16±0.01 mg QE/g, and 0.01±0.00 mg QE/g, respectively. The three extracts showed lower IC 50 values compared to ascorbic acid (0.143±0.05 mg/ml, 0.023±0.004 mg/l, and 0.043±0.03 mg/ml for acetone, methanol, and water extracts, respectively). At 0.5 mg/ml of acetone extract, there was an increase in the testosterone production compared to the control. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that K. africana could be recommended for use in the treatment of male infertility. Keywords: Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth., Antioxidants, Cytotoxicity, TM3 Leydig cells testosterone. INTRODUCTION Medicinal plants are used by millions of people worldwide for alleviation and treatment of various diseases and they have significantly contributed to the improvement of human health [1]. Approximately 80% of world population use traditional medicines for primary health care [2]. Preference of medicinal plants over synthetic medicines is due to the ease of access, low costs, and relatively less side effects. In many developing countries, the use of medicinal plants is profoundly practiced and lot of work is done to verify the efficiency and efficacy of medicinal plant extracts as claimed by traditional practitioners. Medicinal plants are believed to contain a wide range of antioxidants such as polyphenols that maintain the physiological levels of free radicals and subsequently protect tissues from detrimental effects of free radical [3]. The antioxidants present in plant products help in the stimulation of cellular defense system and biological system against oxidative damage [4]. In South Africa, medicinal plants are used to treat and manage various ailments such diabetes, hypertension, diarrhea, and male reproductive disorders [5,6]. Approximately 3000 plant species from more than 30,000 higher plant species are used in traditional medicines for the treatment of various conditions [7]. Traditional medicines are important sources of potentially useful new compounds for the development of chemotherapeutic agents [8]. Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. belongs to the Bignoniaceae family. The plant is commonly known as African sausage tree, liver sausage tree, or cucumber sausage tree (English), “umfongothi” (Zulu), “modukghulu” (North Sotho), and “muvevha” (Venda). The plant is widespread in Southern Africa, especially in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Swaziland [9]. The different parts of K. africana are used traditionally for the treatment of various ailments. The seeds, fruits, stem bark, leaves, and roots are used for the treatment of pneumonia, malaria, diabetes, antifungal, eczema, and waist pain [10]. The leaves are also used to treat dysentery [11]. K. africana leaves are mixed with Hypoxis hemerocallidea corn, boiled and the decoction is used to treat syphilis and sores [12]. Furthermore, K. africana is used to treat wounds, dysentery, ulcer, rheumatism, syphilis, gonorrhea, and purgative [13]. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of K. africana (Lam.) Benth. extracts on the TM3 Leydig cells. METHODS Collection and preparation of plant materials The leaves of K. africana (Lam.) Benth. were collected, in summer season from labeled trees of Lowveld National Botanical Garden of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The plant materials were dried in a cool darkroom temperature, pulverized into fine powder using laboratory electric grinder, and stored in the properly labeled polypropylene bags in a dark cool dry place until further use. Plant material extraction Acetone, methanol, and water were used as solvents for extractions. Three grams of the powdered leaves were weighed into 100 ml bottles followed by addition of 30 ml of acetone and methanol. The bottles were shaken for 30 min in the laboratory shaker and supernatants were decanted into centrifuge tubes. The tubes were centrifuged at 4.4 × g for 20 min and filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter paper into pre-weighed labeled glass vials. The bottles were left open under the stream of cold air in the fume cupboard for solvent evaporation. After drying, the vials were weighed again to determine the quantity of crude extracts processed. The method of extraction with water was different from the acetone and methanol methods. Following addition of water, the concoctions were boiled on the hot plate, cooled, and filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter paper into 50 ml centrifuge tubes. The filtrates were kept overnight in the −80°C freezer and freeze-dried. After drying, the crude extracts were added into pre-weighed labeled vials to determine the quantity of crude extracts processed. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4. 0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2019.v12i10.34163 Research Article