Abstract
Phenolic and flavonoid contents in plants play a great role in scavenging free radicals in the body and act as antioxidants; thus making their determination very vital. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the methanol extract of Voacanga africana root bark and its fractions (n-hexane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) were carried out in this study. The total phenolic content was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteau assay while the the total flavonoid content was determined by the aluminium chloride colorimetric assay method. The result obtained showed that n-hexane fraction of the plant exhibited the highest (116.607±95.13 mgGAE/g) total phenolic content (TPC) at all concentrations followed by ethyl acetate fraction of the plants. The highest total flavonoid content across concentrations (300, 250, 200, 100, 50 and 25 μg/ml) was exhibited by n-hexane fraction (467.143±44.22 mg QE/g). From the results, it was concluded that n-hexane fraction of V. Africana root bark exhibited the highest total phenolic and total flavonoid contents at all concentrations (ppm), followed by ethyl acetate. It could be deduced that V. africana root bark possesses phenolic and flavonoid contents depending on the type of extract or fraction; thus justifying its folkloric use in the treatment of diseases.Keywords: Phytochemicals, Phenols, Flavonoids, Voacanga africana, Root bark, Fraction
Highlights
Plants are a major source of phenolic compounds, which are synthesized as secondary metabolites during normal development in response to stress conditions, such as wounding and UV radiation among other
Qualitative Phytochemical Analysis of the Extract and Fractions: Phytochemical analysis of the plant extracts was done to determine the presence of some bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, tannins and phenolics according to standard methods described by Harborne and Baxter (1993)
Phenol and tannin contents were found to be relatively low in nbutanol fraction
Summary
Plants are a major source of phenolic compounds, which are synthesized as secondary metabolites during normal development in response to stress conditions, such as wounding and UV radiation among other. A mature Voacanga africana grows about 6 m high, not more than 10 m with low widely spreading crown distributed mainly in West Africa. It is known locally as kokiyar in Hausa, pete-peteinigbo, kirongasi in swahili, and akododo in yoruba. Phytochemical, Total Phenolic and Total Flavonoid Contents of Voacanga africana showed the presence of alkaloids including voacamine, voacangine and vobasine (OliverBever, 1986). Flavane is the main part of flavonoids which contains two benzene rings (A and B) within its chemical composition. Aim of the Study: The aim of this project work is to determine the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents Voacanga africana root bark
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