Chemistry and Biochemistry: Research Progress Vol. 11

Background: Trema orientalis has been used extensively in traditional medicine for the treatment of respiratory, inflammatory and helminthic diseases. The fruit, leaves, bark, stem, twigs and seeds are also widely used in traditional medicine.

Aim: The primary aim of the study was to identify and compare the phytochemicals present in the methanol and n-hexane extracts of the leaf and bark of T. orientalis.

Method: The leaf and bark of T. orientalis were harvested from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, forest, dried and pulverised into powder. Extracts were prepared from the powdered plant materials using methanol and n-hexane. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemicals present in the extracts were determined. The functional compounds of the leaf extracts were determined using Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR).

Results: The recovered extracts and percentage yields were 8 g (1.6%) and 6 g (1.2%) for the leaf samples, and 50 g (10%) and 1 g (0.2%) for the bark samples, for methanol and n-hexane, respectively. Overall, the methanolic extracts showed higher yields than those obtained with n-hexane for both plant parts. The phytochemicals detected included tannins, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids and cardiac glycosides. Steroids were present in the leaf extracts but absent in the bark extracts, while saponin was present only in the methanol extract of the bark. Quantitative analysis revealed that terpenoids had the highest amounts, with 22.22 ± 0.09 mg/g in the leaf methanol extract, 23.38 ± 0.04 mg/g in the leaf n-hexane extract, 22.90 ± 0.03 mg/g in the bark methanol extract and 28.09 ± 0.07 mg/g in the bark n-hexane extract. Higher quantities of phytochemicals were present in the leaf compared with the bark of T. orientalis. Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) analysis revealed the organic compounds present in the extracts, including aliphatic primary alcohol, secondary alcohol, aliphatic primary amine, alkane, alkene, carbon dioxide, δ-lactam, phenol and halo compound.

Conclusion: The study confirmed the presence of essential phytochemicals, including tannins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids and terpenoids, in all the extracts. These findings indicate that T. orientalis may be a relevant medicinal plant for further therapeutic research.