Bioactivity and Chemical Analysis of Drepanoalpha: An Anti-Sickle Cell Anemia Poly-Herbal Formula from Congo-Kinshasa

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disease that is becoming a public health problem in sub-Saharan African countries. Phytotherapy seems to be an affordable approach for sickle cell patients in this region. In Democratic Republic of the Congo, a hundred of plants used in the management of SCD were studied through bio-guided assays. Three most active recipes were used for the formulation of an improved traditional drug, called Drepanoalpha, of which scientific evidence concerning the effectiveness and innocuousness is well established. The present study aimed to identify as well as to quantify the phyto-markers of biopharmaceutical relevance for the evaluation of the quality and the standardization of Drepanoalpha; to identify and quantify the nutrients contained in this phytomedicine and to determine its energy value; to assess its antisickling and antibacterial activities in vitro. The obtain results indicated that Drepanoalpha contains total polyphenols (289.3 ± 6.3 mg gallic acid equivalents /g), flavonoids (350.7 ± 1.3 mg equivalent of quercetin/g), anthocyanins (108.0 ± 5.6 mg D-catechin equivalent/g) and tannins (202.5 ± 0.3 mg tannic acid equivalent/g). It also contains glucids (55.3 g/100 g of drug), lipids (5.7 g/100 g of drug), proteins (16.6 g/100 g of drug) and micro-nutriments such as Zn, Mn, Fe (9.0 mg/100 g of dry matters), Mg (1.4 mg/100 g of DM), Ca (4. 8 mg/100 g of DM), K, and P as well as the vitamin C. Its energy value is about 1482 kJ/100 g of drug. The organic extracts displayed in vitro antisickling (rate of normalization >90%) and antibacterial activities (towards S. aureus) (CMI<500 μg/ml). Thus, it is desirable that flavonoids be targeted as sphyto-markers for the evaluation of the quality of Drepanoalpha and its standardization