Background: Combretum platypterum is used ethno-medically in the treatment  many diseases in Africa, such as; helminthiasis, sexually transmitted diseases, conjunctivitis, malaria, lumps, fever, eye problems, diarrhea, lower backache, coughs, swellings, as febrifuge, tonic, and to stop post-partum bleeding. Aim: This work was aimed at investigating the phytochemical, proximate, anti malarial, anti inflammatory, anti bacterial and anti fungal activities of leaf extracts of Combretum platypterum. Methods: Leaves of C. platypterum were cold extracted with methanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane. The extracts were subjected to preliminary phytochemical analyses, proximate, anti malarial, anti inflammatory and antimicrobial tests. Results: The results revealed that, alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, carbohydrates, resins and reducing sugars were found in all the extracts. It was also observed that the presence of the metabolites in each extract was in polarity-dependent manner. The percentage composition of carbohydrates was also the highest followed by the composition of proteins. The suppressions of the extracts against P. falciparum at half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 mg/ml) were found to be higher than that of chloroquine at IC50 µg/ml. It was also found that methanol extract had the highest inhibition against Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria and C. albicans in a dose-dependent manner. K. pneumonia was resistant to the inhibition of the extracts. The anti inflammatory assays showed that methanol extracts at 500 mg/ml exhibited higher lipoxygenase Inhibition than diclofenac at 500 µg/ml. Ethyl acetate extract showed highest inhibition of heat-induced hemolysis, protein denaturation and proteinase among all the extracts. Conclusion: The therapeutic use of the leaves of C. platypterum against malaria and swelling was confirmed by the activities of the extracts against inflammation and P. falciparum. It is also necessary that the bioactive compounds responsible for these activities be isolated.

Aim: To study the phytochemical, proximate, antimicrobial and anti-malarial activities of leaf extracts of Justicia carnea Methods: The leaf sample of Justicia carnea which has been used in Nigeria folklore in treating malaria, cancer and many other diseases was extracted with methanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane. The extracts were subjected to qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening, proximate, anti-malarial and antimicrobial screening. Results: The results showed that alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenolic compounds were present. Ethy acetate extract also exhibited the highest suppression against malaria parasite in-vitro, more than chloroquine. This inhibition and high abundance of alkaloids and glycosides gave credence to the therapeutic use of the plant as anti-malaria drug. The three extracts showed a concentration-dependent inhibition against S. aureus, Aspergillus spp and Bacillus spp. S. typhi, K. pneumonia, P. aerogenosa and C. albicans were resistant in all concentrations of the extracts. Conclusion: The therapeutic use of the leaves of J. carnea in treatment of malaria was validated. Its antimicrobial activity was also affirmed in some of the tested organisms.

The physicochemical parameters of the oil as well as qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses were carried out on n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous extracts of Ricinodendron heudelotii (Njangsa) using standard methods. The phyto-compounds were identified and their various concentrations were determined using Gas Chromatography equipped with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) The physiochemical analysis carried out on the oil extract showed that the oil had an iodine value of 24.111g I 2 /100g, peroxide value of 147mL eq / kg, saponification value of 322.58mg/KOH, thiobarbituric acid value of 1.4508mg/kg, density of 0.338g/ml and specific gravity of 0.9699. The results from the phytochemical analysis showed that the extract from all the solvents contained flavonoids (rutin, epicatechin, glycetin, kaempherol, and flavones, with epicatechin having the highest concentrations of 10.2546µg/g and 6.7597µg/g in n-hexane and aqueous extracts respectively), tannins (12.5370µg/g). Linamarin a cyanogenic glycoside was found in abundance in the aqueous extract at a concentration of 19.0462µg/g, alkaloids (quinine,7.8644µg/g, ephedrine 2.7672µg/g) occurred in ethyl acetate extract at appreciable quantity. Resin, cardiac glucoside, saponins, terpenoids and steroids were found in n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions in not very significant concentrations.