Alafia barteri is a plant species belonging to the family Apocyanaceae. It is native to the West and Central Africa, stretching from Guinea Bissau to Cameroon, Congo and Nigeria. It is valued for its effectiveness in the traditional medicine system in Nigeria and other African countries. The objective of the present study was to investigate the phytochemical constituents of the leaf of Alafia barteri using gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy analysis (GC-MS). The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 70 phytochemical components in the ethanol leaf extract of Alafia barteri. The prevailing bioactive compounds include: 2-pyrrolidinone (14.03%), cyclotetrasiloxane (12.56%), 9,12-octadecanoic acid(8.12%), n-Hexadecanoeic acid(7.97%). The compounds were identified by identified by comparing measured mass spectral data with those in NIST 14 Mass Spectral Library.The results of the present study suggest that the plant leaf can be used as a valuable source in the field of herbal drug discovery.
Citation: Kolawole I.O., Ebuehi O.A.T., Lawal R.A., Olaitan P. (2023) Identification of the Bioactive Phytochemicals in the Ethanol Leaf Extract of Alafia Barteri (Apocyanaceae), European Journal of Botany, Plant Sciences and Phytology, Vol.8, No.1, pp.1-24
Keywords: Alafia barteri, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, phytochemicals
