Antioxidants are the subject of extensive research because, in addition to their use as preservatives in foodstuffs as a replacement for synthetic antioxidants, they are also used in the treatment of many diseases. Cajanuscajan and Crotaevaadansonii, two medicinal plants used in Benin for their anti-hypertensive effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the hydroethanolic extract. The first part of this study concerns the extraction and quantification of total phenols, flavonoids and tannins. The second part studies the antioxidant activity of plant extracts, using the DPPH radical scavenging technique. The anti-inflammatory activity was studied using the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The results showed that total phenolic, flavonoids and condensed tannins values were higher in Cajanuscajan ethanolic extracts: 254.12 ± 5.37 mg of gallic acid equivalent per g of dry extract, 910.4 ± 2.45 mg of Quercetin equivalent per g of dry extract, 2.22 ± 0.05 mg of catechin equivalent per g of dry extract. Antioxidant activity methods show that all extracts from the two plants studied display antioxidant properties at different levels. IC50 value of Cajanuscajan extract was 0.03 mg/ml and Crotaevaadansonii extract was 0.09 mg/ml as opposed to that of ascorbic acid 0.01 mg/ml a powerful radical scavenger DPPH. The hydroethanolic extract of Cajanuscajan and Crotaevaadansonii significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the thickness of the rats’ paws at 600 mg/kg body weight. With regard to the percentage inhibition 6 hours after carrageenan injection, the samples of hydroethanolic extract of Cajanuscajan can be ranked in the following order: AAS (95% ± 2.4%) > Cc 600 (90% ± 2.6%) > Cc 400 (76% ± 2.2%) > Cc 200 (63.9% ± 2.1%). Meanwhile, samples of hydroethanolic extract of Crotaevaadansonii can be ranked in the following order: AAS (95% ± 1.8%) > Ca 600 (90% ± 2.3%) > Ca 400 (79.4% ± 1.2%) > Ca 200 (45.0% ± 2.8%). Further studies are needed to find the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects mechanism.
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