Extraction, isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites in the leaves of Morinda lucida from Oshiegbe in Ebonyi State

Abstract

Abstract This research work assessed the extraction, isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites in the leaves of Morinda lucida. The leaves of the plant were collected from Oshiegbe in Ebonyi state. They were air-dried and pulverized for extraction. The extraction was done using petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and ethanol through sequential extraction method at room temperature. The extracts were concentrated and subjected to phytochemical analysis. The concentrated fraction was subjected to thin layer chromatography (TLC) and column chromatography to obtain the pure compounds. The isolated compounds were characterized using ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy (UV), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) for their structural elucidation. The result of the work showed that the ethanol extract recorded the highest percentage yield of 5.36 while the petroleum ether extract recorded the least percentage yield of 0.61. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, flavonoids, steroids and glycosides in the leaves of the plants. The ethanol extract yielded four pure isolates (compounds) of R f values: 0.93, 0.80, 0.86 and 0.72. The compounds were characterized as N-ethyl-N-nitroso-ethylmethanoate (1) bicyclo-[3,1,1]-2,6,6-trimethyl heptane-2,3-diol (2) dibutylphthalate (3) and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid-butyl-2-methylpropyl ester (4) The spectral results and GC-MS fragmentation pattern agreed with the structures of the isolated compounds.