PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF AFRAMOMUM MELEGUETA AND PIPER GUINEENSE SEEDS

Samples of two spice plants; Aframomum melegueta and Piper guineese were analyzed for phytochemical composition. The result of the phytochemical screening of the two seeds reveals the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponin, steroids, cardiac glycosides and terpenes. The percentage of alkaloids in Aframomum melegueta 2.17% was higher than that in Piper guineense which contained 1.67%. Aframomum melegueta contained 2.03% flavonoids, 35.40% phenols and 58.67% of cardiac glycosides while Piper guineense contained 1.92% flavoniods, 37.10% phenols and 39.33% of cardiac glycosides. This results shows that the percentage composition of all the phytochemicals in Aframomum melegueta was higher than those in P. guineense except in phenols where P. guineense recorded 37.10% higher than that of A. melegueta which had 35.40%. The phytochemical constituents found these two plants have shown that these medicinal plants can be used in modern medicine in producing drugs that would be of significant value in management of convulsion, leprosy, inflammation, rheumatoid pains, cancer and other related illness.