ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY AND PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF EXTRACTS FROM THE ROOTS AND STEM BARK OF JATROPHA CURCAS

Abstract

The powdered roots and stem bark of Jatropha curcas were extracted using 95% ethanol. The ethanol extracts obtained from parts of plants were partitioned into fractions using chloroform, distilled water, ethyl acetate, methanol and n-hexane solvents of varying polarity. The crude ethanol extract and five soluble fractions of both the roots and stem bark were tested against plasmodium falciparum. The results shown a good anti-plasmodial potency at high concentration of the fraction of the roots and stem bark of J. curcas. Chloroform and n-hexane soluble fractions recorded good activity on the test organisms with 94.3% and 97.1% inhibition. The results indicated that the roots and stem bark extracts contained active compounds which have anti-malaria property. Test for the presence of secondary metabolites in the plant extracts revealed the presence of saponins, flavonoids, steroids, tannins and alkaloids.