Xeroderris stuhlmannii (Taub.) Mendonça & E.P.Sousa (Fabaceae): Evidence of the antihypertensive and antioxidant activities of its leaf aqueous extract in cadmium chloride hypertensive rats

<i>Xeroderris stuhlmannii</i> (Fabaceae) <i>is</i> a medicinal reported in Cameroonian herbal medicine to treat hypertension. The aim of the study was to assess the antihypertensive and antioxidant activities of <i>X. stuhlmannii</i> aqueous leaf extract (AEXS) on cadmium chloride-induced hypertensive rats. The <i>in vitro</i> antioxidant activities of AEXS were investigated for their radical scavenging potency using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic) acid (ABTS), Nitric oxide (NO) and OH- assays completed with oxidative stress markers analyses. Antihypertensive activity of AEXS (35, 100, and 300 mg/kg) was assessed in CdCl₂ induced-hypertensive rats. Antihypertensive activities performed include systolic (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) variation, followed by evaluation of selected biochemical parameters in urine, blood (Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)), creatinine, urea and total protein) and histological examination of tissue samples (aorta, heart, kidneys and liver). The amount of the phenols of the leaf extract was estimated in mg gallic acid equivalent and identification of some compounds was done by UPLC-UV-ESI-TOF-MS. Accordingly, the identified phenols were stuhlmannione A (<b>1</b>), formononetin (<b>2</b>), stuhlmarotenoid A (<b>3</b>), 9-methoxymaackiain (<b>4</b>), 4-hydroxymaackiain (<b>5</b>) and 7-hydroxy-3',4'-methylenedioxy-isoflavone (<b>6</b>). The extract exhibited a significant (<i>P < 0.05-0.001</i>) decrease of SBP, DBP and HR when compare to control. AEXS also reduced (<i>P < 0.05)</i> serum rates of ALT, AST, and urea. The extract showed beneficial effects on alterations observed in the histological structures of the aorta, heart, kidneys and liver. AEXS highlighted high level of phenols (26.48 ± 2.89 mg GAE/g) and a strong antiradical activity on DPPH, ABTS⁺, OH^- and NO with IC₅₀ of 148.8 μg/mL, 27.83 μg/mL, 22.29 μg/mL, 29.84 μg/mL respectively. An optical density of 1.79 nm was obtained with FRAP test. Thus, <i>X. stuhlmannii</i> leaf extract has <i>in vitro</i> antioxidant and antihypertensive effects that may support its use against hypertension.