Volume 11, Issue 2, November 2014, Pages 515–519
T.O.A. Adeyemi1, R.O. Ogboru2, O.D. Idowu3, E.A. Owoeye4, and M.O. Isese5
1 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
2 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
3 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
4 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
5 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Morinda lucida Benth have been used over the years by rural communities across the tropical region for its medicinal potentials. Phytochemicals are bioactive plant constituents produced via secondary metabolism in relatively small amounts. Their presence span across several plant species of which Morida lucida is worthy of note. To ascertain the phytochemical constituents responsible for the ethno-medical properties of Morinda, a qualitative and quantitative screening of the phytochemical constituents was conducted on some sampled leaves. The result of the screening showed that the leaf of Morinda contains alkaloids, tannins, anthraquinones and steroids. The implication of these finding is that the presence of anthraquinone in Morinda leaves makes it a potential laxative; while the presence of steroid, alkaloid and tannins explains its ability to treat heart ailments, malaria and diarrhea respectively among other ailments.
Author Keywords: Morinda lucida, phytochemicals, anthraquinones, steroid, alkaloid, tannins.
T.O.A. Adeyemi1, R.O. Ogboru2, O.D. Idowu3, E.A. Owoeye4, and M.O. Isese5
1 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
2 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
3 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
4 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
5 Moist Forest Research Station, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin-city, Edo State, Nigeria
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Morinda lucida Benth have been used over the years by rural communities across the tropical region for its medicinal potentials. Phytochemicals are bioactive plant constituents produced via secondary metabolism in relatively small amounts. Their presence span across several plant species of which Morida lucida is worthy of note. To ascertain the phytochemical constituents responsible for the ethno-medical properties of Morinda, a qualitative and quantitative screening of the phytochemical constituents was conducted on some sampled leaves. The result of the screening showed that the leaf of Morinda contains alkaloids, tannins, anthraquinones and steroids. The implication of these finding is that the presence of anthraquinone in Morinda leaves makes it a potential laxative; while the presence of steroid, alkaloid and tannins explains its ability to treat heart ailments, malaria and diarrhea respectively among other ailments.
Author Keywords: Morinda lucida, phytochemicals, anthraquinones, steroid, alkaloid, tannins.
How to Cite this Article
T.O.A. Adeyemi, R.O. Ogboru, O.D. Idowu, E.A. Owoeye, and M.O. Isese, “Phytochemical screening and health potentials of Morinda lucida Benth,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 515–519, November 2014.
