Evaluation of the Phytochemical and Nutritional Profiles of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius Leaf Collected in Abakaliki South East Nigeria

Abstract: World Journal of Medical Sciences, 2016

This study investigated the phytochemical contents and nutritional profile of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaf collected from Abakaliki Southeast Nigeria. The phytochemical, proximate and mineral content analyses were done using standard methods, whereas vitamin concentrations were evaluated using HPLC method. The preliminary qualitative phytochemical screening revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, saponins and absence of phlobatanins, tannins, steroids, anthraquinones and cardiac glycosides. Further quantitative phytochemical analysis in (mg/100g) revealed that phenols, saponins, alkaloids and flavonoids contain 33.02±0.32; 6.305±0.13; 1.96 ±0.26 and 2.955±0.09, respectively. Proximate composition (%) showed that carbohydrate, proteins, crude fat, moisture, ash content and crude fibre contains 41.895, 7.68, 1.145, 13.53, 4.585 and 31.165, respectively. The results of vitamin analysis in (mg/100g) of vitamin A, vitamin B₂ , vitamin B1 , vitamin B9 , vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E  corresponds to 59.6445, 5.84, 1.36, 9.425, 219 892.025, 88.992 and 69.785, respectively and concentrations of minerals in (mg/100g) of Phosphorus, Copper, Zinc, Iron, Calcium, Potassium and Sodium were 24.68, 7.1, 15.64, 14.83, 29.16, 33.88 and 41.47 respectively. This investigation shows that Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaf from Southeast Nigeria contains high medicinal and nutritional compositions which could be exploited beneficially in treatment of diseases as well as nutritional supplements