Evaluation of various parts of Stachytarpheta angustifolia (Mill.) Vahl for phytochemical, proximate, mineral and vitamin constituents

Abstract

Various parts of Stachytarpheta angustifolia (Mill.) Vahl were analyzed for phytochemical, proximate, mineral and vitamin compositions; in order to ascertain its bioactive and nutrient components, including potentially hazardous compounds when used in ethnobotany as food and drug. The plant was collected in the Western Experimental Field Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria, in May 2014, and oven-dried at 65 o C for 48 hours. Standard methods of analyses were employed. Quantitative statistical methods were used for data analyses and the concentrations were considered significantly different (p < 0.05). Levels of alkaloid, flavonoid, phenol, saponin and tannin were highest in the leaf; with flavonoid (3.11+0.04 %) having the greatest value. Highest concentrations of carbohydrate (45.41+0.08 %), crude protein (12.31+0.20 %), fat (4.22+0.21 %) and moisture (11.12+0.42 %) were also detected in the leaf. In addition, greatest levels of the vitamins were found in the leaf and vitamin C (92.11+0.96 mg/100g) had the highest concentration. The highest value of hydrogen cyanide, a toxin which was detected in all the plant parts was greatest in the leaf (6.36+0.05 mg/kg).Greatest values of the minerals were found in the root. Oxalate and phytate which are anti-nutrients were also present in all the plant parts. The plant, therefore, exhibited a high potential for food and drug. However, when ingested raw, it may have serious health consequences due to high value of hydrogen cyanide. Citation: Ezeabara CA and Ezeh CM (2015). Evaluation of various parts of Stachytarpheta angustifolia (Mill.) Vahl for phytochemical, proximate, mineral and vitamin constituents. Biosciences Research in Today’s World 1(1): 72-76. Received October 10, 2015; Accepted October 26, 2015; Published November 4, 2015. Copyright: © 2015 Ezeabara and Ezeh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. BRTW is the official journal publication of BRSF. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: e.chinelo5@yahoo.com