Abstract
Zanthoxylum gilletii is an African indigenous deciduous tree which is important for its medicinal use in many communities to treat a wide range of ailments. This study was conducted to identify the alkaloids present in the bark, root and leaves of the Kenyan Z. gilletii. The plant materials were randomly sampled, dried at room temperature, powdered and subjected to thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses for the alkaloid confirmatory tests. The bark, root and leaf extract contained peroxysimulenoline, sanguinarine, fagarine I, norchelerythrine (dihydroavicine or demethylnitidine), trans-fagaramide, 8-methylnorchelerythrine and dihydronitidine alkaloids. The distribution of the alkaloids appeared to be quite variable within different plant parts and different regions. The identified alkaloids have been documented to be useful for their medicinal value in humans and also protect the plants against predation. The medicinal value of Z. gilletii may be due to its contents of varied alkaloids. The information on alkaloidal variation in the species has potential value and practical applications in chemotaxonomy, toxicology and pharmacognosy. The present findings may be useful in optimizing the processing and wild-harvesting of these alkaloids. Key words: Zanthoxylum gilletii, chemotaxonomy, pharmacognosy, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Highlights
Zanthoxylum gilletii is an indigenous deciduous tree growing 10 to 35 m high, belonging to the family Rutaceae
In Africa, Z. gilletii is widely distributed in countries such as Sierra Leone to Kenya, Sudan, Angola, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe
In Nigeria, chemical investigations of Z. gilletii showed the presence of furoquinoline alkaloid, skim-mianine, the cinnamic acid amide, fagaramide and benzo phenanthridine alkaloids, nitidine, dihydrochelerythrine and chelerythrine alkaloids
Summary
Zanthoxylum gilletii is an indigenous deciduous tree growing 10 to 35 m high, belonging to the family Rutaceae. The genus Zanthoxylum is distributed worldwide from the tropics to the temperate zones. In Africa, Z. gilletii is widely distributed in countries such as Sierra Leone to Kenya, Sudan, Angola, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The stem bark decoction is commonly used for back pain and externally for all urinogenital complaints including infections. The root bark or the fruit pulp is a liniment for rheumatism and all kinds of pain. Several phytochemical studies have identified numerous compounds with medical and antioxidant potential including alkaloids, xanthophylls, phenolic acids, sapo-nins, coumarins and hydroxycinnamic acids (Islam and Ahsan, 1997). Phytochemical investigations carried out on a related species, Zanthoxylum chalybeum have yielded pure crystalline alkaloids (Olila and Opuda, 2001). In Nigeria, chemical investigations of Z. gilletii showed the presence of furoquinoline alkaloid, skim-mianine, the cinnamic acid amide, fagaramide and benzo phenanthridine alkaloids, nitidine, dihydrochelerythrine and chelerythrine alkaloids
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