PHYTO-NUTRITIONAL PROFILES OF BROOM WEED (SIDA ACUTA) LEAF EXTRACT

Medicinal plants are abundant in phytochemicals that has significant therapeutic effects. They are relatively cheap, effective and safe in prolong use. This experiment was carried out to investigate the phyto-nutritional profile of broom weed (Sida acuta) leaf extract. Proximate analysis Sida acuta leaf indicated the presence of dry matter (91.88 %), crude protein (18.01 %), ash (9.73 %), crude fibre (6.24 %), ether extract (1.77 %) and energy (2760 Kcal/kg). Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of condensed tannins, hydrolysable tannins, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, oxalate, phytate, alkaloids, terpenoids and glycosides at 0.82 %, 2.02 %, 4.25 %, 0.20 %, 0.17 %, 0.05 %, 0.23 %, 0.22 %, 0.95 % and 0.02 % respectively and the vitamin constituents are thiamine (0.33 mg/100g), ascorbic acid (30.17 mg/100g), riboflavin (0.05 mg/100g), β-carotene (0.79 mg/100g) and niacin (0.41 mg/100g). Mineral analysis showed that it contained calcium (127.6 mg/100g), phosphorus (78.6 mg/100g), potassium (31.6 mg/100g), magnesium (102.1 mg/100g), iron (2.14 mg/100g), manganese (0.60 mg/100g), copper (0.04 mg/100g) and zinc (1.75 mg/100g). Result on amino acid composition showed that they contained lysine (2.11 mg/100g), arginine (1.77 mg/100g), aspartic acid (2.13 mg/100g), threonine (1.85 mg/100g), histidine (4.71 mg/100g), serine (2.03 mg/100g), glycine (1.05 mg/100g), alanine (3.31 mg/100g), cystine (5.06 mg/100g), valine (0.88 mg/100g), leucine (2.04 mg/100g), phenyalanine (4.72 mg/100g), tyrosine (3.51 mg/100g), isoleucine (2.84 mg/100g), methionine (0.85 mg/100g) and proline (1.05 mg/100g). It was concluded that  Sida acuta leaf extract is rich in various nutrients and phytochemicals conferring it the ability to perform multiple biological activities and as a natural alternative to antibiotics.&nbsp