Ethnobotany and Phytochemical Composition of Alchornea Cordifolia in Abia State Nigeria

Abstract

Alchornea cordifolia is one of the medicinal plants used in treatment of several medical challenges in Nigeria. The study was carried out to document the medicinal values of different parts of A. cordifolia in Ekebedi Oboro ancient Kingdom, and profile its bioactive constituents. The ethno-botanical survey involved oral interview of 81 randomly selected traditional medicine doctors and natives on medicinal values of A. cordifolia. The survey showed that A cordifolia is a major herb used in the treatment of various diseases in the ancient Kingdom and it is prescribed in different treatment regimens; coughs, bronchitis, post-partum bleeding, lacerations, wounds, vaginitis, diarrhea, sickle cell anaemia, venereal diseases including gonorhhea, and syphilis, and prostatitis. GC-MS fingerprinting was adopted to determine the bioactive constituents of methanol leaf extract of the plant. Phytochemical fingerprinting revealed the presence of several bioactive compounds as the major active ingredients of the plant. A total of 27 fatty acids and volatile hydrocarbons were detected in the leaf extract of the plant with 9, 12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z)- methyl ester (18.42%), 9-Octadecanoic acid methyl ester (19.93%), Dodecanoic acid 1,2,3-propanetrieyl (15.87%) as most abundant ingredients. These phytochemical compounds of A. cordifolia possibly underscored its antimicrobial and therapeutic action and explains why natives use them in traditional medicine.