Adenia Research Articles

Phytochemical constituents of some selected medicinal plants

Tannins, saponins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, terpenoids, steroids, alkaloids, carbohydrates and glycosides distribution in four medicinal plants belonging to different families were investigated and compared. The medicinal plants investigated are Carica papaya, Ocimum gratissimum, Adenia cissampeloides and Cymbopogan citratus. All the plants were found to contain tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and carbohydrates while anthraquinones were absent in all. Alkaloids were absent in both O. gratissimum and C. citratus. Glycosides were absent in only C. papaya, saponins were absent in only O. gratissimum while phlobatannins were absent in only C. citratus. The extraction of oils was carried out by solvent extraction and steam distillation methods and the percentage yield of extracts by each method determined. Solvent extraction method gave percentage yield of 7.40, 6.30, 6.75 and 5.63% for C. papaya, O. gratissimum, A. cissampeloides and C. citratus respectively. For steam distillation, C. papaya, O. gratissimum, A. cissampeloides and C. citratus gave percentage yield of 5.60, 5.80, 5.44 and 3.82% respectively. The significance of the plants in traditional medicine and the importance of the distribution of these chemical constituents were discussed with respect to the role of these plants in ethnomedicine in Nigeria. Key words: Ethnomedicine; medicinal plants; natural products; phytochemicals.

The development of simple field based procedures for extraction of volatiles from Adenia cissampeloides for subduing Afican honey bee (Apis melifera adansonii)

Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to develop procedures for extracting volatiles from the vine of Adenia cissampeloides which could effect the highest yield at the lowest extraction costs and also could be produced at the cottage industry level. The participatory rural appraisal technique was used to ensure high degree of local beekeepers' participation in the development of extraction procedures. The results indicated that extracts obtained by shaking thoroughly, pieces of crushed vine in a tightly closed flask in solvent alcohol for about six hours was as effective as extracts obtained by boiling the crushed vine in alcohol. Such cold extraction procedure should be most practical method for local beekeepers and could be useful for the small-scale work of beekeepers. To increase the shelf life of the extract, two formulations, namely, emulsifiable and fumigant were made. The relative efficacy of these formulations was estimated by comparing the bioactivity of the formulations against the bee in the laboratory. The efficacy of the emulsifiable extract was similar to the unformulated extract. The fumigant did not, however, have any visible subduing effect against the bee. JOURNAL OF THE GHANA SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Volume 2 No. 2 (2000) pp. 70-79

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON ETHIOPIAN ADENIA (PASSIFLORACEAE)

SUMMARY In Ethiopia the occurrence of 6 species of Adenia is established. One new combination, Adenia inermis (de Wilde) de Wilde, is proposed. Key to the species. Illustrations.