Phytochemical Constituents and Aromatic Content of Methanol and Aqueous Extracts of Dissotis rotundifolia Whole Plant
Darkwah Williams Kweku *
Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
Micheal Adinortey
Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
Alexander Weremfo
Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Phytochemicals existence in natural sources helps to scavenge free radicals hence, offer health benefits. The study reports the phytochemical constituents of methanol and aqueous extracts of Dissotis rotundifolia whole plant. The objective of this research was to use standard procedures to screen the phytochemical presence to determine phenolic and some other organic substances in various extracts of D. rotundifolia. Organic substances of plant extracts with concentration from 0.02 to 0.10 mg/ml were prepared and mixed with appropriate volumes of reagents to read absorbance at the respective wavelength. Methanol extract had the highest content of phenolic substances as compared to aqueous extract and the standard, ascorbic acid. The outcome of this investigation put out that extracts of D. rotundifolia whole plant consist of a variety of phytochemical compounds that can expertly defend the body against oxidative stress caused by free radicals and might consequently be used as a source of potent natural medicinal compounds or food product.
Keywords: Dissotis rotundifolia whole plant, phytochemicals, phenolic contents, methanol extract, aqueous extracts