Screening for Bioactive Compounds of Solvent Extracts of Some Selected Vegetables

Abstract

Bioactive compounds in selected vegetables (wild lettuce, fireweed, fluted pumpkin and tree spinach) were qualitatively identified in water, methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts of the vegetables. The vegetables were obtained, washed, cut in smaller pieces, air-dried at room temperature and sieved. A known amount was weighed and soaked with different solvent (water, methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform) in ratio 1:10 for 72 h inside reagent bottles which were intermittently shaken. It was filtered and the filtrates were evaporated using rotary evaporator. The extractive values of the solvents were calculated and each extract was screened for ten different phytochemicals. The phytochemicals considered were flavonoid, phenol, saponin, tannin, volatile oil, anthraquinone, steroid, glycoside and reducing sugar. The extractive values were highest with fluted pumpkin leaves ranged from 3.083 – 11.737% and lowest in fireweed ranged from 2.302 – 5.733% while the extractive values for wild lettuce and tree spinach leaves were ranged from 2.857 – 9.049% and 1.329 – 6.896% in all the four solvents used. It was found out that methanol and chloroform had the highest solvent potency in extracting phytochemicals from the vegetables considered while water had the lowest solvent potency. Fluted pumpkin and tree spinach leaves were richer in phytochemicals than fireweed and wild lettuce leaves.