Comparative Preliminary Phytochemical and Biological Investigations on Encephalartos kisambo Faden & Beentje and Encephalartos ferox G. Bertol. Cultivated in Egypt

Plants are important sources of bioactive principles. This study aimed to compare, for the first time, the phytochemical and biological profiles (antioxidant and anti-inflammatory) of Encephalartos kisambo Faden & Beentje and Encephalartos ferox G. Bertol leaves family Zamiaceae. The phytochemical screening of the total methanolic extracts (TMEs) revealed that both contain flavonoids, tannins, phenolics, sterols or triterpenes, carbohydrates and saponins. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of TMEs were measured. Total phenolic content of E. kisambo (62.08 μg GA E/mg) is 1.4 fold that of E. ferox (45.93 μg GA E/mg). However, total flavonoid content in E. kisambo (24.68 μg R E/mg) is comparable to E. ferox (25.76 μg R E/mg). Biological profile, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities was investigated for the TMEs and their four fractions namely petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and n-butanol (n-BuOH). TME of E. kisambo exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than E. ferox regarding the two methods of assay (DPPH and ABTS). The EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions of E. kisambo showed the highest antioxidant effect. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity was tested by measuring nitric oxide (NO) % inhibition in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cell line. E. ferox TME exhibited a higher anti-inflammatory potential than E. kisambo. The EtOAc fractions of E. kisambo and E. ferox were approximately 0.69 and 0.66 folds that of the positive control (1 mM L-NAME), respectively. The promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of both plants warrant further studies for isolation and identification of active components.