QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF METHANOIC EXTRACT OF MOMORDICA CHAIANTIA LEAF (EJINRIN) FOR ALKALOIDS, FLAVONOIDS AND PHENOLS

QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF METHANOIC EXTRACT OF MOMORDICA CHAIANTIA LEAF (EJINRIN) FOR ALKALOIDS, FLAVONOIDS AND PHENOLS

CHAPTER ONE

1.  Introduction

Plants play a prominent role in maintenance of human health and have been used as medicine since ancient times. According to the estimation of World Health Organization (WHO) (1995), plant extracts are used as medicines in traditional therapies by 80% of the World’s population (Baker et al., 1995) and more than 30% of the plant species have been used for medicinal purposes (Joy et al., 1998). The use of plants as sources of drugs, vegetables and foods cannot be underestimated. Virtually all plants are medicinal hence they serve as raw materials for synthetic drugs (Sofowora, 1993). The medicinal value of these plants lies in some chemical substances that produce a definite physiological action on the  human body (Antony et al., 2013) Therefore, the analysis of these bioactive constituents would help in determining various biological activities of plants.

These bioactive substances which can be present in all plant parts include terpenoids, steroids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids (Sofowora, 1993). The medicinal plants of Africa accounts for nearly two third of the total plants species used in modern system of medicine and in rural areas as tea, extracts. Herbal drugs are widely prescribed, even when their biological ingredients are not known, due to their effectiveness, fewer side effects and low cost (Kumar et al., 2009; Ajayi et al., 2011). The rational design of novel drugs from traditional medicine obtained from plant offers new prospectsin modern health care (Manjamalai et al., 2010).

Medicinal plants have been identified and used throughout human history. Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions, and to defend them against attack from predators such as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals. At least 12,000 of such compounds have been isolated so far; a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total (Tapsell, 2006). Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body through processes identical to those already well understood for the chemical compounds in conventional drugs; thus herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in terms of how they work. The conventional medicine is more than the herbal medicine in terms of their standards and purity (Lai & Roy, 2004).

The use of plants as medicines predates written human history (Fabricant & Farnsworth, 2001). Ethno botany (the study of traditional human uses of plants) is recognized as an effective way to discover future medicines. In 2001, researchers identified 122 compounds used in modern medicine which were derived from “ethno medical” plant sources; 80% of these have had an ethnomedical use identical or related to the current use of the active elements of the plant. Many of the pharmaceuticals currently  available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including aspirin, digitalis, quinine, opium etc. (Fabricant & Farnsworth, 2001).The use of herbs to treat diseases is almost universal among non industrialized societies, and is often more affordable than purchasing expensive modern pharmaceuticals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the populations of some Asian and African countries presently use herbal medicines for some aspects of primary health care (Edgar et al., 2002). Studies in the United States and Europe have shown that their use is less common in clinical settings, but has become increasingly more in recent years as scientific evidence about the effectiveness of herbal medicine has become more widely available.

Momordica charantia is a species of Momordica belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family with the common name, bitter mole, or bitter gourd, (English). In most States in Nigeria it is used as food as well as medicine. It is not formally cultivated as a commercial crop anywhere in the world (Makgakga; 2004). It is normally cooked with pounded groundnut (peanut butter) and beans to serve as dish and to improve the flavour. It is on this note that this research seek to carryout a qualitative and quantitative analysis of methanoic extract of momordica charantia (ejinrin) for alkaloids, flavonoids and phenols.

1.1       Aim of the Study

The Aim of the study is to carryout the qualitative and quantitative analysis of methanoic extract of Monordica charantia leaf for alkaloids, flavonoids and phenols.

1.2       Objectives of the Study

            The specific objectives of the study include the following:

1. To carry out a qualitative analysis of methanoic extract of Momordica charantia leaf for alkaloids, flavonoids and phenols.
2. To carryout a quantitative analysis of methanoic extract of Monordica charantia leaf for alkaloids, flavonoids and phenols.