Chemical Composition and Phytochemical Screening of the Leaves of Hymenocardia ulmoides and Vitex ferruginea

Abstract

The chemical and phytochemical analysis of Hymenocardia ulmoides and Vitex ferruginea leaves, used as medicinal plants in Congo-Brazzaville, was carried out. The proximate analysis revealed that the moisture, proteins, fat, fatty acid, carbohydrate and ash content of the leaves were respectively 67.20; 15.12; 2.75; 2.20; 8.57 and 3.29% for H. ulmoides. For V. ferruginea leaves, these content values were 55.41; 22.87; 1.38; 1.10; 4.53 and 6.84%. The energy values of the samples were 504.48 and 516.80 kj/100 g for H. ulmoides and V. ferruginea respectively. In H. ulmoides leaves, potassium (1.33%) was the major element, followed by calcium (0.75), phosphorus (0.55) and magnesium (0.33). The most abundant minerals detected in V. ferruginea leaves were potassium (4.39%), calcium (2.05%), magnesium (1.45%), aluminium (0.13) and phosphorus (0.91). Sodium, manganese, iron and aluminium in the case of H. ulmoides were detected as trace elements. The phytochemical screening of the leaf extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, steroids, tannins and triterpenoids in ethanol-water extracts of both plant samples. In methanol-chloroform extracts of H. ulmoides leaves, glycosides and saponins were not detected, while flavonoids, saponins and tannins were not found in V. ferruginea. Anthraquinones were absent in all the extracts of both plants. The plant leaves may be important in nutrition as leafy vegetables and in ethnomedicine as a remedy for their nutrient and non-nutrient bioactive compounds.