Abstract

Medicinal plants (a.k.a. Phytomedicines) are parts of a plant or the whole plant that possess healing properties. Folk medicine reportedly uses Carica papaya L. (Caricaceae) and Parquetina nigrescens L. (Asclepiadaceae) as a herbal remedy for the management of sickle cell anemia. This study was carried out to screen the leaf extracts of P. nigrescens and C. papaya L. (Caricaceae) for possible antioxidant phytochemicals, proximate nutrient constituents, amino acid composition and mineral content present in the samples using standard chemical and chromatographic procedures. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of folic acid, vitamin B₁₂, alkaloids, saponins, glycosides, tannins and anthraquinones. This study also showed that each of these plants extracts contained flavonoids and the antioxidant vitamins A and C. Some of the previously established antisickling amino acids were also present in the plants. Cyanogenic glycosides were absent from both plant extracts, indicative of the non-toxic effects of these plants when taken orally. These results indicate that the previously reported antisickling properties of these herbs may be due to their inherent antioxidant nutrient composition, thus supporting the claims of the traditional healers and suggests a possible correlation between the chemical composition of these plants and their uses in traditional medicine.

Key words: Amino acids, antioxidants, micronutrients, phytochemical, vitamins.