Phytochemical and Anti-Microbial Analysis of the Roots of Ficus Exasparata (Anwirinwa)

Abstract

Abstract:The roots of Ficus exasparata of the Moraceae family were duly analysed to ascertain the active constituents responsible for the use of the plant part in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, treatment of internal bleeding, bruises, cough and dangerous boils among others. The phytochemical analysis showed the presence of some secondary metabolites in various concentrations with saponin and alkaloids present in low concentration while reducing sugars were present in very high concentration with protein, carbohydrates and acidic components totally absent. The Atomic Absorption Spectroscopic (AAS) analysis showed the presence of certain trace elements such as Cd (0.55ppm), Cr (1.88ppm),As (0.38ppm), Hg (0.09ppm) etc which were higher than the WHO recommended standard of Cd (0.003ppm), Cr (0.05ppm), As (0.01ppm), Hg (0.001ppm) respectively an observation that could be attributed to the crude nature of the plant parts. Three different choice solvents (Chloroform, Ethylacetate and Chloroform-Methanol mixture) were used in the extraction of the plant part. The extracts were subsequently subjected to thin layer chromatography with respective Rf values as 0.13, 0.22 and 0.60 respectively showing just a single spot each for all the solvents used. The extracts were subjected to antimicrobial screening using eight pathogenic bacteria species and three fungi with only the chloroform extract exhibiting activity on the selected test organisms. The three extracts from the sample were subjected to structural elucidation using a combination of some spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR, UV-VIS, H 1 -NMR, C 13 -NMR and GCMS. The spectral analysis suggested the presence of and 1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid, 2-(acetyloxy)-tributyl ester for chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts respectively. The constituents of these extracts such as Coumarin in chloroform extract could account for its potency in curing certain illnesses as coumarin is a well known natural product that has displayed a broad range of biological activities.