Abstract:
Senna italica, a member of the Fabaceae family (subfamily Caesalpinaceae), is widely used
traditionally to treat a number of disease conditions, such as sexually transmitted diseases and some forms of
intestinal complications. The roots of Senna italica were collected from Zebediela subregion, Limpopo province
(S.A), powdered and extracted with acetone by cold/shaking extraction method. The phytochemical composition
of the extract was determined by thin layer chromatography (TLC). The chromatograms were visualised with
vanillin-sulphuric acid and p-anisaldehyde reagents. The total phenolic content of the extract was determined by
Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as TAE/g dry weight. The extract was assayed for the in vitro anticancer
activity using Jurkat T cells, antioxidant activity using DPPH assay and antibacterial activity by bioautographic
method and the microtitre plate method. The acetone extract of the roots of Senna italica inhibited the growth of
Jurkat T cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The extract also had free radical scavenging activity as well
as reasonable antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli
and Staphylococcus aureus with MICs ranging from 0,08 to 0.16 mg/ml in the same order as ampicillin the
positive control. The biological activities observed in the acetone extract validated the ethnomedicinal use of
Senna italica.
