Phenolic-Rich Ethanolic Extracts of African Culinary Spices Exhibit Comparable Antioxidant Efficacy to Rosemary (Salvia Rosmarinus): A Phytochemical and Radical Scavenging Assessment

Background Culinary spices and herbs are known to possess excellent antioxidant activities that promote health and wellness and are linked to their phytochemical compositions. Ricinodendron heudelotii and Chrysobalanus icaco are tropical spices, while Salvia rosmarinus is a herb of Mediterranean origin. Materials and Methods This study evaluated the phytochemical composition (phenolics, terpenoids, flavonoids, oxalates, saponins, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, tannins, and phytates) and the antioxidant activities (DPPH, FRAP, and TAC) of ethanolic extracts of Ricinodendron heudelotii, Chrysobalanus icaco, and Salvia rosmarinus using butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) as a positive control. The spices were extracted using 100% ethanol. The phytochemical composition and antioxidant activities of the extracts obtained were determined using standard methods. Results The values of phytochemicals varied with ranges in flavonoids; phenolics; terpenoids; oxalates; saponins; alkaloids; cardiac glycosides; tannins and phytates as follows respectively: 7.89-13.12 mg QE /g; 98.08-192.19 mg GAE /g; 1.88-24.24 mg GAE/g; 35.67-68.77 mg/100g; 0.00-18.14 mg/100g; 0.00-6.46 mg/100g; 6.19 -19.65 mg/100g; 0.63 -1.15 mg CE /g and 19.31 – 113.17 mg/100g. The highest percentage Ferric reducing ability (FRAP) was seen in this order: Gallic acid (99.27 %), Salvia rosmarinus (75.46%) > Ricinodendron heudelotii (62.58 %) >BHT (45.35 %) > Chrysobalanus icaco (64.42 %). Ricinodendron heudelotii and Salvia rosmarinus extracts exhibited the highest Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (11.45 and 12.47 %) compared with cocoplum (6.7 %). Conclusion The results indicated that the ethanolic extracts of Ricinodendron heudelotii and Chrysobalanus icaco are potential antioxidants with properties comparable to Salvia rosmarinus and superior to those of butylated hydroxytoluene.