Phytochemical Screening And Quantification Of Saponins In The Leaves Of Three Zizyphus Species

Abstract

An important aspect of the modern use of plant extracts as pharmaceutical preparation is the characterization and determination of the individual active constituents e.g Alkaloids, Terpenes, Saponins, Flavonoids, Tannins … etc. Saponins are glycosides of triterpene, steroids or steroids alkaloids which have very wide distribution in the plant kingdom and some marine organisms . The objective of the study was to carry out a phytochemical screening for four phytochemical groups namely , Saponins , Alkaloids, Flavonoids and tannins in different leaf ages (Old , Intermediate and young) of three Zizyphus species viz. abyssinica , mauritiana, spina-christi (Andrews, 1952) . The screening was carried out using the routine methods for phytochemical screening adopted by Pharmaceutical Industries Laboratory (Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre, Khartoum North) . The results revealed the presence of saponins tannins and flavonoids in the leaves of three species while the test for alkaloid was negative . Due to the importance and variability of biological activities of saponins, their content in the leaves at different ages was studied. The study was carried out using the Foaming Index method described in the Quality Control Methods for Medicinal plant Materials , (WHO, 1989). Results showed that , there were differences in saponins content among species and leaf ages . That is in Z. abyssinica they were 1.43,1.25 and 1.11% , in the old , intermediate and young leaves, respectively ; in Z. mauritiana they were 1.0, 0.91 and 0.77% ; and in Z. spina-christi were 1.11, 1.0 and 0.9%