Phytochemical, proximate and elemental analysis of acalypha wilkesiana leaves

Abstract

Acalypha wilkesiana,commonly called Irish petticoat, is native to the south pacific islands andbelongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. Apart from its use as a vegetable, theplant is also used in traditional medicine as a diuretic plant and is eaten inthe management of hypertension. In this study, three samples (ethanol extract,aqueous extract and dried powder) of Acalypha wilkesiana leaves were analyzedfor the presence of phytochemicals according to standard methods. Apart fromflavonoids, steroids, anthraquinones and phytate, all the phytochemicals testedfor are present in the three samples. This qualitative analysis showed thepresence of flavonoids only in the ethanol extract and powdered leave, steroidsonly in the ethanol extract, anthraquinones and phytate in the aqueous extractand powdered leave only. Proximate analysis revealed the presence of ash [4.16%(aqueous extract),13.98% (ethanol extract) and 13.65% (powdered leaves)],moisture [66.0% (aqueous extract), 30.89% (ethanol extract) and 12.0% (powderedleaves)], total lipid [1.75% (aqueous extract), 4.25% (ethanol extract) and2.20% (powdered leaves)], as well as fiber, crude protein and energy, whileelemental analysis revealed the presence of sodium [0.0086% (aqueous extract),0.024% (ethanol extract) and 0.015% (powdered leaves)], potassium [0.49%(aqueous extract), 1.36% (ethanol extract) and 1.44% (powdered leaves)], aswell as chloride and calcium. The various phytochemical compounds detected areknown to have beneficial use in industries and medical sciences, and alsoexhibit physiological activity.