Aloe gilbertii Reynolds, locally known as Eret, is traditionally used for the treatment of several illnesses, including
wounds in Ethiopia. Based on its medicinal claims, the leaf latex of A. gilbertii and its constituents were evaluated for
their potential antioxidant activity using DPPH assay method. Application of the leaf latex of A. gilbertii on silica gel
column chromatography followed by preparative silica gel-TLC led to isolation of three polar anthrones, identified as
microdontin A/B (1), Aloin A/B (2) and Aloinoside A/B (3) by spectral data (IR, 1H, 13C NMR, DEPT and ESI-MS) as
well as by chemical conversion. The leaf latex (IC50=18.2 μg/mL) exhibited a strong free radical scavenging activities
in a dose-dependent manner due to the presence of high concentration of phenolic compounds, such as microdontin
A/B (1), aloin A/B (2) and aloinoside A/B (3) in the leaf latex of A. gilbertii. In light of the above results, the present
study demonstrates that the leaf latex of A. gilbertii and its constitutes can protect the body from oxidative stress from
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).
