Phytochemical constituents, antioxidant activity and safety evaluation of Kei-apple fruit (Dovyalis caffra)

Abstract

Present study was conducted to determine phytochemical constituents of Kei-apple fruit grown in Egypt, to evaluate antioxidant activity of the fruit extracts, and assess the safety of whole fruit extract (WFE) in acute and sub-chronic toxicity experiments using rats model. Chlorogenic acid and pyrogallol were the main identified phenolic compounds in dry fruits. Malic acid was the most abundant organic acid. The whole fruit extract exhibited higher antioxidant activity than the flesh extract (FE). The fatal dose of the extract is more than 6000 mg/kg b.w. In sub-chronic experiment, hemoglobin, red blood cells, total white blood cells and mean cell hemoglobin values did not significantly alter when male and female rats ingested 1000 mg/kg D. caffra WFE. Biochemical analysis showed some significant changes especially in female rats.

Keywords: Acute and sub-chronic toxicity; Antioxidant activity; Kei-apple fruit.