PHYTOCHEMICAL, PROXIMATE AND MINERAL ANALYSES OF THE LEAVES OF BAMBUSA VULGARIS L. AND ARTOCARPUS ALTILIS L

The need to boost livestock production in Nigeria calls for a provision of feed that is adequate in both quality and quantity as well as accessible to animals all year round. The quest to assess and exploit plants for their potentials in feeding livestock animals all year round necessitated this study. The phytochemical and nutritional composition of the leaves of Bambusa vulgaris and Artocarpus altilis were assayed. Phytochemical screening of the two plant leaves revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and tannins. Terpenoids and steroids were absent in the two plants. Further phytochemical quantifications revealed B. vulgaris and A. altilis leaves contained alkaloids (10.64% and 14.80%), saponins (2.33 and 3.90%), flavonoids (4.60 and 3.70%), tannins (0.67 and 1.89 mg/100g) and phenol (0.23 and 1.89 mg/100 g) respectively. The proximate analyses revealed low moisture content (12.27% and 14.88%), crude protein (2.84 and 2.15%), moderate crude fat (6.00 and 6.91%) and high crude fiber (16.96 and 9.96%), ash (11.82 and 15.92%) and carbohydrate (50.12 and 50.19%) respectively. The leaves were equally rich in Ca, K, P, Mg with low Na. Similarly, the results show that leaves of the two plants investigated could provide dietary and medicinal needs of livestock. Introduction Bambusa vulgaris belongs to the family Poaceae. It is known as bamboo in English language and Oparun in Yoruba language. Rao et al. (1988) reported that the origin of species of bamboo is unknown. B. vulgaris has lemon-yellow culms (stems) with green stripes and dark green leaves. Culms grow 10 20 meters high and four to 10 centimetres thick (Dieter, 1999 and Rao et al., 1988). Several branches arise from mid-culm nodes and above. Culm leaves are deciduous with dense pubescence. B. vulgaris rarely flowers and this might help the plant build and store protein and minerals for the dry season period. Louppe et al. (2008) reported that the fruits of the plant are rare due to low protein viability caused by irregular meiosis. Reproduction is by vegetative propagation through culm by rhizomes, stem and branch cutting, layering and marcotting (Louppe et al., 2008). In Nigeria, the plant is an indigenous medicine and an infusion of macerated leaves is taken as abortifacient (Oteng & Brink, 2008). B. vulgaris woody culm (stem) can be used for panel, lumber, veneer, plywood, pulp and paper as well as charcoal (Zehui, 2007). A. altilis (Breadfruit) belongs to the family Moraceae. It is an important staple crop. The https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjs.v59i1.6 Ghana J. Sci. 59 (2018), 69 77 GJS is an Open Access Journal and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC) License [CC BY 4.0] GHANA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE VOL. 59 70 fruits can be cooked and eaten at all stages of maturity. A. altilis tree can reach the height of 21 metres at maturity. The trunk may grow to 90 ft. (27 metres) when fully grown. Its leaves are large, multilobed, extremely beautiful and often used in decorations. The breadfruit is seedless and is propagated either by suckers or root cuttings. The leaves have yellow veins and are glossy dark green, leathery, alternate up to 3 ft. (91cm) long, and barely lobed to deeply pinnate lobed. Breadfruit may be eaten ripe as a fruit or unripe as a vegetable. The fruits are usually round, oval or oblong ranging from 9 to 20 cm wide and more than 30 cm long. The plant contains milk latex sap. The latex is used to treat skin ailments and fungus diseases. The latex and sap from crunched stems of the leaves are used traditionally to treat sore eyes and ear infections. Recent research has been focussed on the effective use of breadfruit in treating tumours and leukaemia (Ragone, 1997). The use of herbal medicine in the treatment of various ailments has been in existence from the ancient days. Medicinal plants are endowed as natural sources of a large proportion of medicines for the treatment of several human ailments (Yakubu et al., 2007). The plants are cheaper to purchase within the rural people means (Goonasekera et al., 1995) compared to synthetic drugs which are costly and not readily available at people’s disposal and need expertise for their application. In addition, researchers have proved that plant extracts can be used to cure many health ailments and it has lesser side effects compared to other forms of medications. Most existing plants have medicinal values of which steps are being taken by scientific research to properly test and utilize these plants for therapeutic purposes. Animal feed has always been a major limiting factor in the growth of the livestock industry in developing countries. Apart from the high and unstable costs of feeds, some of the ingredients used in preparing livestock feeds are in high demand for human consumption. The decrease in supply of the conventional feed resources coupled with the high cost of importation has led to alternative sources being produced locally. Attempt to provide adequate supplement both in quality and quantity prompted this research work.


Introduction
Bambusa vulgaris belongs to the family Poaceae. It is known as bamboo in English language and Oparun in Yoruba language. Rao et al. (1988) reported that the origin of species of bamboo is unknown. B. vulgaris has lemon-yellow culms (stems) with green stripes and dark green leaves. Culms grow 10 -20 meters high and four to 10 centimetres thick (Dieter, 1999 andRao et al., 1988). Several branches arise from mid-culm nodes and above. Culm leaves are deciduous with dense pubescence. B. vulgaris rarely flowers and this might help the plant build and store protein and minerals for the dry season period. Louppe et al. (2008) reported that the fruits of the plant are rare due to low protein viability caused by irregular meiosis. Reproduction is by vegetative propagation through culm by rhizomes, stem and branch cutting, layering and marcotting (Louppe et al., 2008). In Nigeria, the plant is an indigenous medicine and an infusion of macerated leaves is taken as abortifacient . B. vulgaris woody culm (stem) can be used for panel, lumber, veneer, plywood, pulp and paper as well as charcoal (Zehui, 2007). A. altilis (Breadfruit) belongs to the family Moraceae. It is an important staple crop. The VOL. 59 70 fruits can be cooked and eaten at all stages of maturity. A. altilis tree can reach the height of 21 metres at maturity. The trunk may grow to 90 ft. (27 metres) when fully grown. Its leaves are large, multi-lobed, extremely beautiful and often used in decorations. The breadfruit is seedless and is propagated either by suckers or root cuttings. The leaves have yellow veins and are glossy dark green, leathery, alternate up to 3 ft. (91cm) long, and barely lobed to deeply pinnate lobed. Breadfruit may be eaten ripe as a fruit or unripe as a vegetable. The fruits are usually round, oval or oblong ranging from 9 to 20 cm wide and more than 30 cm long. The plant contains milk latex sap. The latex is used to treat skin ailments and fungus diseases. The latex and sap from crunched stems of the leaves are used traditionally to treat sore eyes and ear infections. Recent research has been focussed on the effective use of breadfruit in treating tumours and leukaemia (Ragone, 1997). The use of herbal medicine in the treatment of various ailments has been in existence from the ancient days. Medicinal plants are endowed as natural sources of a large proportion of medicines for the treatment of several human ailments (Yakubu et al., 2007). The plants are cheaper to purchase within the rural people means (Goonasekera et al., 1995) compared to synthetic drugs which are costly and not readily available at people's disposal and need expertise for their application. In addition, researchers have proved that plant extracts can be used to cure many health ailments and it has lesser side effects compared to other forms of medications. Most existing plants have medicinal values of which steps are being taken by scientific research to properly test and utilize these plants for therapeutic purposes. Animal feed has always been a major limiting factor in the growth of the livestock industry in developing countries. Apart from the high and unstable costs of feeds, some of the ingredients used in preparing livestock feeds are in high demand for human consumption. The decrease in supply of the conventional feed resources coupled with the high cost of importation has led to alternative sources being produced locally. Attempt to provide adequate supplement both in quality and quantity prompted this research work.

Collection and preparation of plant samples
The fresh leaves of B. vulgaris and A. altilis were obtained from Ifaki -Ekiti in Ido-Osi Local Government area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The plants were authenticated in the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology Herbarium .The leaves were thoroughly washed with distilled water and air dried at room temperature (25-30°C) for two weeks. The air-dried leaves were ground into a powdery form and stored in air tight containers. The samples were taken to the laboratory of Chemistry Department, University of Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria, for phytochemical, proximate and mineral analyses.

Quantitative Phytochemical Analyses
Further quantification of the phytochemical constituents in the samples were determined using the standard procedures of Obadoni and Ochukwo (2001), Boham and Kocipal (1994). by using Buck 200 atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Buck Scientific, Norwalk) (Essien et al., 1992) and their absorption compared with absorption of standards of these minerals.

Results
The results obtained for the preliminary phytochemical screening of the leaves of Bambusa vulgaris and Artocarpus altilis are presented in Tables 1 and 2 respectively. The results revealed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, saponins, flavonoids and cardiac glycoside in the plants investigated. It was noted that terpenoids and steroids were absent in the leaves of both plants. Quantitative analyses of the phytochemicals in the two plants indicated that the leaves of B. vulgaris and A. altilis have fairly high concentration of alkaloids 10.64 ± 0.79% for B. vulgaris and 14.80 ±0.00% for A. altilis. This was followed by flavonoids 4.60 ± 0.00% and 3.70 ±0.14 in B. vulgaris and A. altilis respectively. The results obtained for the proximate and mineral compositions of B. vulgaris and A. altilis are shown in Tables 3 and  4 respectively. The results revealed high value of carbohydrate (50.12 ± 0.25% and 50.19 ± 0.45%), crude fibre (16.96 ± 0.06% and 9.96 ± 0.06%), ash content (11.82 ± 0.08 and 15.92 ± 0.11%), low moisture content (12.27 ± 0.28 and 14.88 ± 0.53%), low crude fat (6.00 ± 0.00% and 6.91 ± 0.01%) as well as crude protein (2.84 ± 0.05% and 2.15 ± 0.01%) in B. vulgaris and A. altilis. and A. altilis respectively.

Determination of the proximate composition
The proximate analyses of the samples were carried out according to the standard procedures of Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC, 2000). Moisture content was determined by heating about 5 g of the sample placed in a crucible inside an oven at temperature of 105°C to a constant weight. Ash content was determined by heating about 5 g of the plant sample in a crucible placed in a muffle furnace maintained at 450°C. Crude protein was determined by multiplying the nitrogen content of the sample by 6.25 (AOAC, 2005). Crude fat was determined by extracting 2 g sample in a soxhlet extractor apparatus with petroleum ether in an oven at 50°C (James, 1995), Crude fibre was determined by digesting about 5 g of the sample with H 2 SO 4 and NaOH. The residue was placed into a crucible in a muffle furnace at about 550°C for five hours. Carbohydrate was determined according to Onwuka (2005). Available carbohydrate was calculated as follows: % Available carbohydrate = 100 -(% moisture + % Ash + % protein + % fibre).

Determination of mineral composition
The mineral constituents (potassium and sodium) in the samples were determined by digesting the ash of the samples with perchloric acid and nitric acid, and then taking the readings on Jenway digital flame photometer/spectronic 20 (Bonire et al., 1990). Calcium and magnesium were determined spectrophotometrically

Discussion
The phytochemical spectrum of B. vulgaris in this study is the same for B. ventricosa but differ with the absence of alkaloid as reported by Coffie et al. (2014). Three different classes of phytochemicals (alkaloids, glycosides and saponins) detected in in A. altilis in the study are equally documented in the reports of Binumol and Sagitha (2013) for A. heterophyllus but differ with the presence of terpenoids. The protective and metabolic activity of alkaloids has been severally reported by many researchers. Alkaloids are one of the most efficient therapeutic bioactive substances in plants. Alkaloids are noted for their analgesic, antispasmodic and anti-bacterial properties (Okwu & Okwu, 2004). Saponins are known for their medicinal properties which includes anti-microbial effect (Kereem et al., 2005), diuretic, analgesic as well as promoting wound healing (Arawande et al., 2013).
The plant samples contain flavonoids which are phenolic compound that have health promoting effects such as anti-allergic, anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory (Morel, 2011).The presence of tannins in the two plant samples implies that they have astringent properties, quickens the healing of wound and inflamed mucous membrane (Farquar, 1996). Tannin is effective against indigestion and fever (Asekun et al., 2013). They play an important role in prevention of different diseases. The presence of these secondary metabolites in the two plants investigated inferred that the plants have a therapeutic effect and their medicinal values could be due to their confirmation.
The proximate analyses of B. vulgaris and A. altilis leaves revealed appreciable high content of crude fibre ( 16.96%) in B. vulgaris and moderate amount of crude fibre (9.96%) in A. altilis. The crude fibre content reported in this study is lower when compared to what was recorded for different species of Bambusa (25.88% to 33.19%) by Antiwi-Boasiako et al. (2011) but comparatively higher than 6.09% reported for Artocarpus heterophyllus seed cake (Ibironke & Raji, 2013). However, the value for A. altilis compared favourably with 9.09% reported by Okaranye and Ikewuchi (2009) for Pennisetum purpureum. The high crude fibre content of B. vulgaris may probably make ruminant animals to prefer it to common fodder plant such as Pennisetum purpureum (Okaranonye & Ikewuchi, 2009). Fibre aids digestion by improving peristalsis. Besides, fibre lowers the body cholesterol level thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (Iheanacho & Udebuani, 2009).
The protein composition of the leaves of B. vulgaris (2.84%) and A. ailtils (2.15%) were found to be relatively low compared to the values reported for B. vulgaris (22.38%) and Afzelia africana (29.85%) by Ikhimioya et al. (2007). The low crude protein composition of these two plants make them less nutritious foliage fodders for high protein demanding ruminant animals. The crude fat content of B. vulgaris and A. altilis was found to be 6.00% and 6.91% respectively which are much higher compared to value range from 1.38% to 1.58% reported for some Bamboo species (Bambusa vulgaris vittata, B. vulgaris vulgaris and B. ventricosa) by Antwi-Boasiako et al. (2011) but compared favourably with 6.50% with Launaea taraxacifolia (Adinrtey et al., 2012), Acalypha species (6.15%, 6.30% and 6.60%) reported by Iniagbe et al. (2009). Crude fat should be consumed moderately as excess consumption may result in some complications such as cardiovascular disorders, atherosclerosis, cancer and ageing (Antia et al., 2006). The percentage ash content, an index of inorganic mineral elements obtained in this study for B. vulgaris (11.82%) and A. altilis (15.92%) are relatively high when compared with the values reported for Ocimum viridis (6.50%) and Ocimum gratissimum (2.0%) by Abdulraham et al. (2012). These values however compare favourably with 15.20% reported for Cucurbita pepo (Andzouana & Mombouli, 2012) and 10.61% for B. vulgaris (Ikhimioya et al., 2007). The high ash content indicates that the leaves of the two plants are rich in mineral elements. The moisture content of B. vulgaris and A. altilis were relatively low when compared with the values obtained for Ceiba petandra (5.30%), Manihot esculentus (4.85%) and Abelmoschus esculentus (9.15%) as reported by Raimi et al. (2014). However, the values were higher than 10.88% moisture content recorded for Securinega virosa . The low moisture content may probably give the leaves long shelf life.
The calcium concentration in the leaves of B. vulgaris and A. altilis was found to be 32.48 mg/100g and 20.08 mg/100g respectively. These values were high compared with the calcium content of 2.90 mg/100g reported by Uzama et al. (2012) for Securinega virosa leaves. The two plants contain high content of calcium which is necessary for bone and teeth development. Olayiwola et al. (2009) reported that calcium is also helpful in the formation of blood, intracellular and extra cellular fluids within and outside the cell of the body.
Magnesium is an important mineral element which acts as a cofactor of many enzymes (McDonald et al., 1995). Higher values of potassium (59.41 mg/100 g and 26.00 mg/100 g) in B. vulgaris and A. altilis respectively were recorded in this study. These values are relatively high when compared with 3.67mg/100g reported for Securinega virosa .
The observed values in this study are however low when compared with 70.62 mg/100 g for Myrianthus arboreus (Oyeyemi et al., 2014) and 220.00 mg/100 g in Cassia siamea leaves (Hassan & Ngaski, 2007). The high value of potassium which is the most abundant element in the two plants is in agreement with the earlier report of Asekun et al. (1995) and Igile et al. (2013). Afolabi et al. (1995) reported that potassium is the abundant mineral in Nigeria agricultural production. The concentration of sodium in the leaves was determined to be 5.65 mg/100 g and 7.20 mg/100g in B. vulgaris and A. altilis respectively.
The presence of sodium in moderate quantity is notable as it helps in osmotic pressure production between the cell and the surrounding tissues in the body and also regulating fluid exchange between the cell and the surrounding tissues in the body (Long, 2007).

Conclusion
The phytochemical profile of the two plant leaves investigated contained active secondary metabolites which support their therapeutic potentials. The leaves are also rich in carbohydrates, crude fibre as well as essential minerals which can contribute to nutrient uptake of the animals that consume them. The good nutritional values coupled with their medicinal potential could make the leaves to be utilized as feed supplement for livestock.