Haya: The Saudi Journal of Life Sciences (SJLS)
Volume-3 | Issue-10 | 619-623
Original Research Article
Effect of Extraction Solvents on Phytochemical Composition of Selected Medicinal Ferns in Ekiti State, Nigeria
Adedeji Olayinka Adebiyi
Published : Oct. 30, 2018
Abstract
The effect of extraction solvents (water, ethanol and hexane) on the content
of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, saponins, total phenols, tannins and flavonoids in
three selected medicinal ferns (Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) Presl, Nephrolepis
biserrata (Sw.) Schott and Pneumatopteris afra (Christ) Holttum) in Ekiti State,
Nigeria was investigated. Matured leaflets were collected from healthy plants in Ekiti
State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Extracts from shade dried and powdered leaflets
of each of the ferns were subjected to phytochemical screening using standard
methods. The results showed the presence of total phenols, tannins and flavonoids in
all the extracts of the ferns while saponin was present only in water extracts. Hexane
was not able to extract alkaloids and saponins in the three ferns. The results showed
that extraction solvents significantly affected the phytochemical composition of the
ferns. The water and ethanol extracts had higher content of the phytochemicals than
the hexane extracts. The diversity of phytochemicals found present suggests that the
ferns could serve as sources of useful drugs.