Assessment of the phytochemical constituents and proximate composition of african peer

Project Abstract

The abstract for the research content is as follows This study aimed to assess the phytochemical constituents and proximate composition of African pear (Dacryodes edulis) seeds and pulp. Phytochemical analysis was carried out to determine the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and phenols. Proximate analysis was conducted to determine the moisture content, ash content, crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber, and carbohydrate content of the seeds and pulp. The results of the phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and phenols in both the seeds and pulp of African pear. The proximate analysis showed that the seeds had higher crude fat content compared to the pulp, while the pulp had higher moisture content and carbohydrate content. The crude protein content was found to be higher in the seeds compared to the pulp. The ash content was similar in both seeds and pulp, while the crude fiber content was higher in the pulp compared to the seeds. Overall, the findings of this study provide valuable information on the phytochemical constituents and proximate composition of African pear seeds and pulp, highlighting their potential as a source of bioactive compounds and nutrients with potential health benefits. Further research is warranted to explore the bioactivity and health-promoting properties of these phytochemicals in African pear, as well as their potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Project Overview

<p> </p><p>INTRODUCTION<br>1.1 Background of the Study<br>Plants are important in our everyday existence. They provide our foods, produce<br>the oxygen we breathe, and serve as raw materials for many industrial products such as<br>clothes, foot wears and so many others. Plants also provide raw materials for our<br>buildings and in the manufacture of biofuels, dyes, perfumes, pesticides, adsorbents and<br>drugs. The plant kingdom has proven to be the most useful in the treatment of diseases<br>and they provide an important source of all the world’s pharmaceuticals. The most<br>important of these bioactive constituents of plants are steroids, terpenoids, carotenoids,<br>flavanoids, alkaloids, tannins and glycosides. Plants in all facet of life have served a<br>valuable starting material for drug development (Ajibesin, 2011). Antibiotics or<br>antimicrobial substances like saponins, glycosides, flavonoids and alkaloids etc are found<br>to be distributed in plants, yet these compounds were not well established due to the lack<br>of knowledge and techniques. The phytoconstituents which are phenols, anthraquinones,<br>alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids and saponins are antibiotic principles of plants. Plants<br>are now occupying important position in allopathic medicine, herbal medicine,<br>homoeopathy and aromatherapy. Medicinal plants are the sources of many important<br>drugs of the modern world. Many of these indigenous medicinal plants are used as spices<br>and food plants; they are also sometimes added to foods meant for pregnant mothers for<br>medicinal purposes ( Akinpela and Onakoya, 2006). Many plants are cheaper and more<br>accessible to most people especially in the developing countries than orthodox medicine,<br>and there is lower incidence of adverse effects after use. These reasons might account for<br>2<br>their worldwide attention and use. The medicinal properties of some plants have been<br>documented by some researchers ( Akinpelu and Onukoya, 2006). Medicinal plants are of<br>great importance to the health of individuals and communities. It was the advent of<br>antibiotics in the 1950s that led to the decline of the use of plant derivatives as<br>antimicrobials (Marjorie, 1999). Medicinal plants contain physiologically active<br>components which over the years have been exploited in the traditional medical practices<br>for the treatment of various ailments (Ajibesin, 2011). A relatively small percentage of<br>less than 10% of all the plants on earth is believed to serve as sources of medicine<br>(Marjorie, 1999).<br>In an effort to find alternative sources of feedstuffs to replace some or all of the<br>maize in the diet of pigs and other non-ruminant farm animals, several studies have been<br>conducted to determine the suitability of some agro-industrial wastes as feed ingredients.<br>These include cocoa pod husks, brewers spent grains, rice bran, maize bran, groundnut<br>skins, and wheat bran. However, one by-product that requires consideration is cashew nut<br>testa, a by-product obtained from the processing of cashew nuts. Its utilization as animal<br>feed even at relatively low dosage formulations will minimize its disposal problem as<br>well as reduce the cost of animal feeding.</p><p>1.2 Statement of the Problem<br>It is now known that agricultural materials are used as animal feeds and that they<br>contain phytochemicals. These phytochemicals serve as antibiotic principles of plants.<br>3<br>The need for a cheap, renewable, easily available and nutritive source of material<br>as feed supplements has therefore attracted me to investigate African pear leaf, (APL) as<br>an alternative.<br>1.3 Objectives of the Study<br>Broadly stated, the purpose of this work is to investigate/assess the nutritive and<br>medicinal values of African pear leaf as an effective replacement in animal diets.<br>Specifically, this work investigated:<br>(i) the proximate constituents of African pear leaf; and<br>(ii) the qualitative and quantitative phytochemicals of African pear leaf.</p> <br><p></p>