Qualitative and Quantitative Phytochemical Screening of Mangifera indica and Annona comosus (Ripe Mango and Pineapple Fruits)
Ikpe Vitalis PhD, MNSBMB, FIMLS
Department of Biochemistry
Caritas University, Enugu, Nigeria
Email: ikpeforsuccess@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Phytochemicals are natural bioactive compounds found in plant fruits, leaves or other parts that interplay with nutrient and dietary fibre to protect them. This study was carried out to evaluate qualitative and quantitative constituents of Mangifera indica (common mango) and Annona comosus (pineapple) fruits. The two fruits were sliced and pounded separately. Ten grams of each fruit were weighed into three different solvents namely water, ethanol, n-hexane and filtered after 24 hrs. Qualitative analysis revealed the presence of alkaloid, tannins, glycosides, flavonoid, phenol and saponin in the two fruits while quantitative assay showed notable differences. Mangifera indica had higher content of saponin (1. 36%) than Annona Comosus (0.71 %); phenol content, 11.2 % for M. indica and 8.56 % for A. Comosus; tannin content, 2.34 % for M. indica and 1.09 % for A. comosus; flavonoid content, 12.20% for M. indica and 6.96 % for A. comosus. Alkaloid content was higher in A. Comosus (8.80%) than in M. indica (2.8 %). Annona comosus and Mangifera indica are good sources of health support for humans. This study recommends the isolation of these secondary metabolites on a large scale for commercial and therapeutic purposes.
Key words: Mangifera indica, Annona comosus, fruits, constituents, quantities, importance.
