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TLC phytochemical
screening in some Nigerian Loranthaceae
O. M. Wahab1, A. E. Ayodele1* and J.
O. Moody2
1Department
of Botany and Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan,
Oyo State, Nigeria.
2Department
of Pharmacognosy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan,
Oyo State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author.
E-mail:
bayodele@yahoo.com.
Accepted 8 June, 2010 |
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The phytochemical screening of specimens of the family
Loranthaceae collected from the field was carried out with
a view to ascertaining chemical constituents present and
determining their importance in the taxonomic delimitation
of the taxa. Thirty field collections from various
localities were screened for secondary metabolites such as
alkaloids, anthraquinones, terpenoids and ketones using thin
layer chromatography (TLC). Most of the samples tested
slightly positive for alkaloids, anthraquinone-related
compounds, terpenoids and terpenoid-related compounds but
ketonic compounds were of rare occurrence in all the
samples. The chemical profile was useful in separating the
collections of Phragmanthera from the other two
genera while the collections of Globimetula were
found embedded in Tapinanthus. The secondary
metabolites obtained however showed the relative affinity of
the Nigerian species of Tapinanthus. It is concluded
that chemical characters may only be used as supporting
evidence in the identification and delimitation of the taxa.
Key words:
Loranthaceae, mistletoes, Nigeria, taxonomy, phytochemistry. |
