Phytochemical studies of the Methanolic extract of the fruit bark of Parquetina Nigrescens (afzel) (periplocaceae) and preliminary thin layer chromatography (tlc) of its fractions

Parquetina nigrescens (Periplocaceae), is a shrub found in equatorial West Africa and has been used in traditional medicine practice for centuries. The leaves, roots and latex are the parts of the plant used for traditional medicine. There seems to be little information on the fruits and this has prompted this study, to determine the phytochemical constituents and characteristics of the dried fruit bark as well as undertake a preliminary chromatographic characterization of the methanol extract and partitioned fractions of the extract. Phytochemical screening of the fruit bark shows the presence of sugars (reducing sugars), alkaloids, cardiac glycosides and saponins. Proximate analysis shows moisture content, total ash and water soluble extractive of 14.85%, 14.6% and 3.09% respectively. Preliminary chromatographic characterization revealed many components with varying characteristics. In conclusion this study has provided for the first time the phytochemical, proximate and preliminary chromatographic data on the dried fruit bark of parquetina nigrescens.Keywords:Parquetina nigrescens, fruit bark, phytochemical screening, quantitative analysi