PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF VERNONIA AMYGDALINA (BITTER) LEAF

Abstract

ABSTRACT Vernonia amygdalina, a member of the Asteraceae family, known as bitter leaf is commonly consumed in many part of Africa as leafy vegetable and is used in ethno medicine to treat numerous diseases. This study was undertaken to determine the phytochemical composition (qualitative and quantitative) and antioxidants activity of Vernonia amygdalina using DPPH radical scavenging activity. The qualitative screening revealed the presence of Alkaloids, Balsam, Cardiac glycosides, Flavonoids, Glycosides, Saponins, Steroids, Tannins and Volatile oil. While the quantitative screening showed the presence of Alkaloids (0.40±0.20), Flavonoids (0.87±0.31), Glycosides (0.44±0.02), Steroids (78.72± 0.22) and Tannic acid (85.54 ± 2.40). For antioxidant activity, different concentrations (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0mg/ml) of the methanolic extract of Vernonia amygdalina were tested for the degree of inhibition of DPPH but only 0.2mg/ml showed the highest percentage inhibition. The presence of these phytochemicals in Vernonia amygdalina validates its use in ethno medicine and source of nutrient in food; acting as a potential antioxidant for the prevention of free radical related diseases.