CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF "NERIUM OLEANDER" LEAVES

The phenolic products of medicinal plants have a great pharmacological interest. This product gives the powers of medicinal plants. They are the source of several active principles widely used in modern medicine. The use of Nerium oleander in Moroccan traditional medicine is very common. Few studies have focused on the chemical analysis and phenolic compounds of this plant. For this, we investigated the mineral composition and phenolic combination of the leaves oleander and the study of the antioxidant activity. The mineral analysis shows a very high level of potassium and protein. The biochemical studies revealed a very high quantity of polyphenols in the leaves. Thus, the HPLC analysis of the phenolic fraction shows great variability of substances. The cinnamic acid is the majors compounds identified in the phenolic fraction. The other compounds identified are catechin, epicatechine, chlorogenic acid. This present study which is made for the first time showed a very important antioxidant effect, the value of IC50 (The half maximal inhibitory concentration of DPPH) is 0,43 mg mL^-1 for the phenolic fraction. On the other hand, the antioxydant activity of the organic extract, the methanolique fraction, n-butanolique fraction and the decoction, has a percentage of inhibition of DPPH over than 90% at a concentration of µg/mL. IC50% values are respectively 0,005 mg mL^-1; 0,018 mg mL^-1 and 0,005 mg mL^-1.