Abstract
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are an important class of plant toxins whose hepato- and pneumo-toxicity have been extensively studied. Twenty three field plant materials (leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds) were collected, identified and screened for unsaturated PAs. A field test method with Ehrlich reagent was used. The absorbance of Ehrlich colour of the PAs and N-oxides were obtained at 565nm. Positive reactions were obtained from Borreria verticillata; Guiera senegalensis; Tamarindus indica ; Crotolaria doniana; C. gorensis; C. glaucoides; C. mucronata; C. naragutensis; C. lachnosema and C. retusa . The occurrence of PAs are reported for the first time in C. doniana and C. glaucoides. B. verticillata , G. senegalensis and T. indica gave positive Ehrlich reactions which could be due to PAs or other groups giving positive Ehrlich reaction. A number of medicinal and food plants gave negative Ehrlich reaction. Further work is required to confirm and identify the alkaloids in the plants that gave positive reactions.
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