Abstract

The antisickling effects of two indigenous spices Xylopia aethiopica andMonodora myristica were investigated. Two hundred grams (200g) of each powdered sample was divided into two equal parts. One part was used for crude aqueous extraction (CAE) and the other, for Batch process extraction, with chloroform, methanol, butanol, and water to yield; the fat-soluble (FAS), butanol-soluble (BUS) and water-soluble extracts (WAS) respectively. The FAS, BUS, CAE and WAS fractions exhibited profound antisickling effectiveness by inhibiting HbSS polymerization to varying degrees from 70% for FAS to 90% for CAEs in fifteen (15) min. The CAE and WAS fractions were equally able to improve Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio for CAEs and 13 - 100% for WAS fractions respectively. These fractions also reversed already sickled erythrocytes, with the WAS fractions having less time than the CAE fractions. Thin layer chromatographic (TLC) analysis showed that the extracts generally contain some antisickling amino acids such as Arg. Tyr and Asp at varying concentrations. The total free amino acid concentrations of the samples revealed high concentrations of such, with the CAE fractions of X. aethiopica and M. myristica having concentrations of 1028 and 1680mg/100g of samples respectively. Results suggest that these spices when used in combination with other nutritious regimen like fruits, fish and legumes, may be a promising option for the effective management of sickle cell disease and a gamut of its pathophysiological complications.

Key words: Xylopia aethiopica, Monodora myristica, sickle cell disease, Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ratio polymerization.