The pericarp of Landolphia owariensis was collected from the ripe fruit, air dried, pulverized and extracted exhaustively with soxhlet extractor using methanol as solvent. The methanol extract was fractionated using four solvents of different polarity (hexane, ethylacetate, butanol and water).  Phytochemical analysis was conducted on both the extract and the fractions using standard procedures. The crude methanol extract and solvent fractions were subjected to HPLC-UV (High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Ultra-Violet Spectrophotometer) analysis. Antioxidant analysis was carried out on both the crude methanol extract and the solvent fractions using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrlhydrazyl(DPPH).

The phytochemical analysis of the concentrated crude methanol extract showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, protein and glycosides. The HPLC-UV analysis of the crude methanol extract and the solvent fractions showed that they contained many compounds with the ethylacetate fraction containing more phenolic compounds. The ethylacetate fraction showed the highest antioxidant activity at the concentrations of 250.00 µg/ml, 125.00 µg/ml, 62.50 µg/ml and 31.25 µg/ml respectively.

Keywords: Landolphia owariensis, Phytochemical analysis, Antioxidants, Phenolics, DPPH