Abstract
This study aims at determining the phytochemical potentials of <i>Daucus carota</i> and <i>Zingiber officinale</i> collected from a location in Abuja, FCT. Standard laboratory procedures were employed to achieve the objectives. To ascertain the presence of phytochemical components which may be responsible for the healing and ethno-medicinal properties, a qualitative and quantitative screening of the extracts of the sampled plants was conducted. <i>Daucus carota</i> and <i>Zingiber officinale</i> were collected from Kado Bimko market, Gwarinpa, Abuja in October, 2016. Vegetable samples were washed, chopped into uniform sizes and dehydrated into powder form in preparation for further analysis. The phytochemical screening of chemical constituents of the vegetable extracts were carried out to confirm if they contain some notable phytochemicals in them, the result obtained showed some differences in the two samples tested, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, Terpenes, steroids, Anthraquinones, and resins were present in zingiber officianale sample while daucus carota showed presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenes, steroids, phenols, and resins. The presence of these important plant constituents suggests that these vegetables could be potential sources of phytochemicals, which are responsible for their curative and healing properties. This however confirms that they can be used in drug development and treatment and management of various diseases in Nigeria.
Highlights
Phytochemical is a broad term meaning plant chemical referring to a wide variety of compounds that occur naturally in plants
It has been demonstrated that fruits, vegetables and grains exert a protective effect against the development of chronic diseases [20, 11, 9, 10] This protective role can be mainly attributed to the phytochemicals in them, which are defined as bioactive nonnutrient compounds in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plants [19]
Traditional medicines have been accorded greater acceptance in Africa because of unavailability, unwanted side effects and high costs associated with orthodox medicines, inadequate health facilities and healthcare professionals coupled with inadequate training of health workers [14]
Summary
Phytochemical is a broad term meaning plant (phyto) chemical referring to a wide variety of compounds that occur naturally in plants. It has been demonstrated that fruits, vegetables and grains exert a protective effect against the development of chronic diseases [20, 11, 9, 10] This protective role can be mainly attributed to the phytochemicals in them, which are defined as bioactive nonnutrient compounds in fruits, vegetables, grains, and other plants [19]. About 10,000 phytochemicals have been identified, and still a large percentage remains unknown. These identified phytochemicals include tannins, flavones, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, and alkaloids [3]. Traditional medicines have been accorded greater acceptance in Africa because of unavailability, unwanted side effects and high costs associated with orthodox medicines, inadequate health facilities and healthcare professionals coupled with inadequate training of health workers [14]. The search for new plant derived chemicals to replace synthetic drugs should be a priority in future efforts towards sustainable development [1]
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