Phytochemical and mineral content in leaves, stem and bark of <i>Pterocarpus santalinoides</i> (nturukpa) from Afikpo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the phytochemical and mineral content in leaves, stem and bark of Pterocarpus santalinoides sampled from three (3) stands at Itim Autonomous Community in Afikpo, Ebonyi State. Qualitative and quantitative determination of the phytochemical (alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and Phenols) content was carried out using standard methods while the mineral content were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS 210 VGP, Buck Scientific, Inc., East Norwalk, USA). The result of the qualitative analysis revealed that the bark extract had the highest alkaloid with high degree of precipitation (++) compared to all other extracts. The result of the quantitative analysis showed that the highest values of alkaloids (2.24%), flavonoids (4.40%), saponins (10.51%), and tannins (0.13%) were obtained in the leaves of Pterocarpus santalinoides and these values were significantly (P<0.05) higher than values recorded in bark (1.82, 3.33, 8.21 and 0.05%), and stem (1.56, 3.12, 6.97 and 0.03%). Similarly, the results of mineral content showed that Fe (35.93 mg/100 g), Na (23.37 mg/100 g), Ca (1.48 mg/100 g), Mg (17.47 mg/100 g) and P (10.11mg/100 g) were highest in the leaves. The values of phytochemicals and minerals present in the leaves of Pterocarpus santalinoides indicate that the plant has immense health benefit, thus, it can be explored for manufacturing of drugs in pharmaceutical industries.

Keywords: Phytochemical, mineral, leaves, bark, stem