Jaundice affects the liver of the individual. The tissue damage and endotoxemia enhances the formation of free oxygen radicals and reactive oxygen metabolites which increase lipid peroxidation through the accumulation of hydrophobic bile acids. In this study, nineteen plants were recorded during an ethnobotanical survey for jaundice therapy: Alstonia boonei De Wild. (Apocynaceae), Cajanus cajan (Linn.) Millsp (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae), Calliandra portoricensis (Jacq) Benth (Mimosaidaea), Celastrus paniculatus Linn. (Celastraceae), Cochlospermum tinctorium Perr. ex A. Rich. (Cochlospermaceae), Curcuma longa Linn. (Zingiberaceae), Curculigo pilosa (Schum. & Thonn.) Engl. (Hypoxidaceae), Cymbopogon citratus (DC). Stapf. (Poaceae), Enantia chlorantha Oliv. (Annonaceae), Gossypium barbadense Linn. (Malvaceae), Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth (Bignoniaceae), Lawsonia inermis Linn. (Lythraceae), Lophira alata Banks (Ochnaceae), Mangifera indica Linn. (Anacardiaceae), Morinda lucida Benth. (Rubiaceae), Phyllantus amarus Schum. & Thonn. (Euphorbiaceae), Phyllanthus muellerianus (O Ktze) Exell (Euphorbiaceae), Rauwolfia vomitoria Afzel. (Apocynaceae), Sarcocephalus latifolius (JE Sm.) EA Bruce (Rubiaceae). Free radical scavenging activity was evaluated using 2,2-Diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and inhibition of lipid peroxidation was accessed with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method in two poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) models of Clarias gariepinus Burchell (Clariidae) and Scomber japonicus Houttuyn (Scombridae) fish homogenates calculated as MDA equivalent/gm of tissue. Antioxidant activity varied from 1.53% to 80.95%. As the concentration of extract increased, the absorbance increased, while TBARS value decreased as 6.7305 x10-5 to 1.0384x10-5 and 8.2304x10-5 to 5.4100x10-5 (mg/tissue) in Clarias gariepinus and Scomber japonicus fish models respectively. This indicated the mopping of the free radicals produced during jaundice. Thus, TBARS determination provided a measure of membrane lipid peroxidation and might be a direct assessment of the progression of liver injury at the cellular level.
