Abstract
Assessment of the distribution of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, phenols, steroids and flavonoids in ten Nigerian plants belonging to different families was carried out. All the plants investigated contained flavonoids but lacked steroids. Apart from Afzelia africana and Detarium microcarpum, the rest contained alkaloids. Glycosides were present in all except Gongronema latifolium. Phenols occurred in all the plants except A. africana, D. microcarpum and Azadirachta indica . Saponins were absent only in G. latifolium, A. indica and Cola nitida while tannins occurred only in Piper guineense, G. latifolium, Myrianthus arboreus, A. indica , and C. nitida . In quantitative estimation of each phytochemical present in the plants, C. nitida showed the highest percentage alkaloids (7.76%) and Treculia africana the highest percentage saponins (4.24%) while the highest percentage tannins was recorded in A. indica. T. africana had the highest percentage glycosides (24%) and phenols (48%) while A. indica and C. nitida showed the highest percentages of flavonoids. The medicinal uses of the plants understudy were reviewed. Keywords: Alkaloids, Saponins, Tannins, Glycosides, Phenols, Steroids, Flavonoids, Nigerian plants
Highlights
Knowledge of the chemical constituents of plants is important for the discovery of therapeutic agents
Collection and identification of plant materials: The leaves or seeds of P. guineense, A. africana, P. soyauxi, M. soloanei, G. latifolium, M. arboreus, D. microcarpum, T. africana, A. indica and C. nitida were collected from forests located in Eastern part of Nigeria and used for this study
Qualitative test: This assay was carried out to determine the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, glycosides and steroids in the aqueous extract of each plant
Summary
Knowledge of the chemical constituents of plants is important for the discovery of therapeutic agents. According to Makhubu (1998), the use of plants for medicinal purpose was recorded in Pharmacopoeia of Emperor Shen Nung of China between 273 to 300BC. This is an indication that man was aware of the medicinal properties of some plants about 300 years BC. Medicinal plants contain physiologically active principles that over the years have been used in traditional medicine (Adebajo et al, 1983). Since these plants are all used in herbal medicine, there is the need to assay their chemical constituents in order to ascertain those bioactive constituents that confer on them medicinal value
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