INVESTIGATION OF PHYTOCHEMICALS AND CHEMICAL ELEMENTS PRESENT IN HERBAL DRUGS MANUFACTURED AND CONSUMED IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

The rate of acceptance and consequent consumption of herbal drugs in Nigeria is steadily increasing; this could be linked to limited access to health care, high cost of health services and perceived efficacy of herbal medicines. This study investigated the physicochemical properties as well as phytochemical contents of three herbal drugs manufactured and consumed in Nigeria using standard methods. Concentration of selected elements and heavy metals were also determined using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results obtained showed that the herbal drugs are coloured, very bitter, acidic liquids. Ash content obtained for the three samples were 1.490%, 1.246% and 1.746% while moisture content were 84.817%, 84.787% and 13.719% for samples A, B and C respectively. Water extractives present in the samples were 31.643%, 30.124% and 33.496% while alcohol extractives were 21.848%, 22.654% and 20.699% for samples A, B and C respectively. Results from the phytochemical analysis revealed that all three samples contained flavonoids (14.118, 11.799 and 21.921 for samples A, B and C respectively), alkaloids (22.086, 14.580 and 1.912 for samples A, B and C respectively), saponins (13.848, 10.645 and 15.297 for samples A, B and C respectively), glycosides (3.441, 3.368 and 6.016 for samples A, B and C respectively), tannins (9.344, 12.871 and 9.339 for samples A, B and C respectively) and terpenoids (1.93, 2.939 and 2.193 for samples A, B and C respectively). Some trace elements and heavy metals namely; Zn, Fe, Hg, K, Ni, Co, As, Na, Ca and Mg were found in all three herbal drugs. However, lead (Pb) was not detected in two of the herbal drugs and copper (Cu) was not detected in one of the samples. The presence of the observed phytochemicals suggests that the drugs are plant-based formulations with potential therapeutic benefit. While the essential elements found in the herbal drugs play important roles that contributes to good health of consumers, the presence of heavy metals is an evidence of drug contamination. This research therefore recommends strict compliance to standard practice in manufacturing of herbal drugs.