Phytochemical screening of some selected Nigerian medicinal plants

Abstract

Medicinal plants play an essential role in the development of human life. Medicinal plants are used by local people to cure various diseases. All the plants in this study were biologically active and were used for different ailments. Phytochemicals are bioactive compounds obtained from the plant and are widely applied in the traditional herbal medicine. Preliminary screening of phytochemicals is a valuable step in the detection of bioactive principles present in medicinal plants and may lead to novel environmentally friendly drug discovery. The objective of the study was to screen such phytochemicals in selected Nigerian medicinal plants. Fresh plant material (leaves) were collected and processed prior to phytochemical screening. Alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, saponin, tannin, steroids, phenols and protein distribution in six medicinal plants belonging to different families were assessed and compared using aqueous and ethanolic leave extract. The medicinal plants investigated were Parkia biglobosa, Boswellia dalzielli, Carica papaya, Bridelia feruginea, Acalypha wilkesinia and Anogeissus leiocarpus. It was observed that almost all the plant leave extract (aqueous and ethanolic) contains the important phytochemicals like alkaloids, saponin, tannin and phenol. It was concluded that the plants studied were rich in phytochemicals with significant pharmacological and medicinal applications. Hence, the use of the medicinal plant should be encouraged.