Vernonia amygdalina is traditionally used in Ethiopia to treat various diseases. This prompted us to isolate bioactive compounds\nfrom the flowers of this plant. TheCHCl3 extract after silica gel column chromatography has led to the isolation of two compounds\nidentified as tricosane (1) and vernolide (2), while the acetone extract furnished isorhamnetin (3) and luteolin (4). The acetone\nextract and isorhamnetin significantly scavenged the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical by 91.6 and 94%, respectively.\nIt was also shown that the acetone extract and isorhamnetin inhibited lipid peroxidation by 74 and 80%, respectively. The extracts\nand isolated compounds were also evaluated for their antibacterial activity with the CHCl3 extract and vernolide showing strong\nactivity against S. aureus with an inhibition zone of 21 and 19 mm, respectively. On the other hand, the acetone extract and\nisorhamnetin were active against all bacterial pathogens tested. The work presented herein has demonstrated that vernolide and\nisorhamnetin had antibacterial activity. The antioxidant activity displayed by the flowers of V. amygdalina is accounted to the\npresence of isorhamnetin. Therefore, the biological activities displayed by the extracts and isolated compounds from this plant\ncorroborate the traditional uses of this plant by the local people against various diseases.
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