INVITRO ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIINFLAMMATORY ACTIVITIES OF CORN SILK

A.A Olasunkanmi & B.A Ajibode, Volume 6 Issue 2, December 2025 Pages 10-18, Published: 2025-10-29

Abstract

A new, improved, more potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent is required since very little or no effective variants of those elements available to be used during treatment of responses and diseases. This study evaluated the phytochemical composition, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory potential of ethanol and n-hexane extracts of corn silk, comparing their activities with standard reference compounds. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, quinones, terpenoids, and cardiac glycosides. Antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH free radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, with ascorbic acid as the standard. The ethanol extract exhibited stronger DPPH radical scavenging (IC₅₀ = 277.33 µg/mL) than the n-hexane extract (IC₅₀ = 343.51 µg/mL), although both were less potent than ascorbic acid (IC₅₀ = 57.38 µg/mL), a trend consistent in FRAP results. Anti-inflammatory activity, evaluated through anti-lipoxygenase and membrane stabilization assays, revealed that the n-hexane extract (IC₅₀ = 239.31 µg/mL) matched Indomethacin (IC₅₀ = 239.52 µg/mL) in lipoxygenase inhibition and was more active than the ethanol extract (IC₅₀ = 327.85 µg/mL). In membrane stabilization, the n-hexane extract (IC₅₀ = 321.78 µg/mL) outperformed the ethanol extract (IC₅₀ = 457.01 µg/mL) but was less potent than Aspirin (IC₅₀ = 305.13 µg/mL). These results suggest that corn silk possesses moderate antioxidant capacity and notable anti-inflammatory properties, particularly in its non-polar fraction, with activity profiles approaching those of standard drugs. The findings support its potential as a natural, low-cost adjunctive therapeutic for oxidative stress and inflammation, and highlight the need for further bioactive compound isolation, mechanistic studies, and in vivo validation