Preliminary Investigation of The Nutritional Qualities, Phytochemical Properties and Antioxidant Activities of Aqueous Extract of Mistletoe Leaves (Tapinanthus Bangwensis) Grown on Orange Trees.

Abstract

Mistletoe (Tapinanthus bangwensis) plant has been used traditionally in Nigeria and other parts of Africa for the treatment and management of ailments such as diabetics, female reproductive disorders, arthritis, rheumatism, hypertension, asthma, epilepsy and diabetes. In view of the traditional usage of Mistletoe, this has no detailed scientific data; we investigated the nutritional potentials of aqueous crude extract of Tapinanthus bangwensis (Mistletoe) and determination of in vitro antioxidant activity, qualitative and quantitative physiochemical properties.The proximate analysis revealed the crude protein to be 6.8 ± 0.4%, crude fat (9.65 ± 0.3%), total carbohydrate (12.72 ± 0.1%), moisture (67.2 ± 0.1%), ash (3.5 ± 0.1%), crude fibre (0.13±0.2%) and the energy value is 164.94KJ/mole. The mineral evaluation in mg/100g dry weight showed Potassium (147.3±0.01) >; Calcium (90.70±0.025) >; Phosphorus (62.9±0.025) >; Sodium (54.6±0.03) >; Magnesium (43.05±0.02) >; Manganese (34.00±0.01) >; Zinc (24.90±0.015) and Iodine (2.05±0.01). Further tests revealed that heavy metals such as lead, chromium and cadmium were not detected. The qualitative phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of tannins, steroidal glycosides, phenols, saponin, terpenoids and flavonoids while the quantitative (in mg/100g) phytochemical analysis revealed tannin (108.65±0.04 ) >;phenol (66.7±0.01)>; flavonoid (44.58±0.03)>; Cynogenic glycoside (24.53±0.02)>; saponin (2.40±0.02). Reducing sugar was revealed to be 33.07±0.05.