TOXICITY AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF PACIFIC RAIN TREE (Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr.) PODS

Pacific rain tree (Samanea saman) of the Family Fabaceae was investigated for its pharmacological potentials. In this study, S. saman pods were tested for their cytotoxicity, embryotoxicity and antioxidant properties. The pods were collected and oven-dried prior to extraction with 95% ethanol for 48 hours and evaporation using rotary evaporator at 300 rpm. Using brine shrimp lethality assay, the extracts were found have cytotoxic effects against Artemia salina larvae with LC50 value of 4.65 ppm. Similarly, the ethanol extracts of rain tree pods exhibited embryotoxicity against zebra fish (Danio rerio). Zebra fish exposed to the rain tree pod extract for 48 hours were observed to have head and tail malformation, growth retardation, flexure, stunted tail, limited movement, coagulation, undetached tail, lack of somite and absence of heartbeat. The free radical scavenging activity of the samples were estimated using the stable 2, 2’diphenyl-1-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay. The extract recorded an EC50 of 70.92 ppm. Results of this study revealed that S. saman pods can be a potential source of antioxidants and other bioactive compounds with cytotoxic and teratogenic properties.