Extraction and Analysis of Alkaloids in Carica Papaya Leaves
Chapter One
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
- To extract alkaloids from Carica papaya
- To determine the quantity of alkaloids present in the Carica papaya leaves.
- To recommend to people the need to use Carica papaya leaves as medicine for the treatment of malaria, and stroke, as a sliming tea, etc.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
ALKALOIDS
Alkaloids, a specific class of chemical compounds found in plants and occasionally in animals, are notable chiefly for their physiological activity, many have long histories as poisons, narcotics, hallucinogens, and medicinal agents. Generally, alkaloids are basic, or alkaline, substance i.e they neutralize acids, their molecules contain chiefly atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, which is the sources of their basicity
During the long period when the early art of healing involves magical or religious beliefs, the use of minerals, plants and animal organs as medicine was not necessarily related to any active constituents they might contain. Not until alchemy evolved into chemistry and medicine became more scientific, was it apparent that the medicinal virtues of plants and animal tissues had to depend upon specific compounds in the mixtures of components contained therein. Chemists were challenged to separate the constituents and determine by experiment which activities could be attributed to them.
In this regard no drug known to the ancient offered modern research more of a challenge than opium. The first recorded isolation of a crystalline constituent from opium, now thought to have been the alkaloid called narcotine, took place in 1803. In the following year another chemist described what was probably morphine, and a few years later a German chemist purified morphine and recognized its nature as a base. Soon a number of similar substances were recognized and grouped into a new class of compounds known as vegetable alkalies. These later became known as alkaloids (Benso, 1997).
OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF ALKALOIDS
A little over 2,000 alkaloids are known and it is estimated that they are present in only 10 – 15% of all vascular plants. Although most alkaloids occur in the flowering plants, the Angiospems, examples can be found in animals, insects, marine organisms, micro organisms, and the lower plants (Grayson, 2001). Alkaloids occur chiefly in dicotyledoneous plants as salts of common plant acids such as malic acid, citric acids, oxalic acid, succinic acid, tannic acid. They rarely occur as glycosides, although alkaloids may be detected in all parts of plants, they occur to a greater extent in leaves, fruits, seeds and the barks of the tree. The alkaloid content of the plant varies with age and species of the plant.
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODS
MATERIALS (SEE APPENDIX)
METHOD
The leaves of Carica Papaya were collected from the plant growing in Nenwe, Aninri L.G.A Enugu State, the sample for this work was collected in November 2011. The sample was washed with clean water to remove dirts, sand particles and other solid contaminants.
Drying of plant material was done under the sun for one week and powdered. The powdered sample was stored in tightly closed glass sample bottle.
QUALITATIVE TEST FOR ALKALOID
20g of the dried sample was soaked with 100ml of Ethanol for 24hours, decanted after 24 hours and the extract was heated and concentrated.
- 1ml of 1% HCl was added to 3ml of the extract in a test-tube. The mixture was heated for 2mins in a water bath, shaked continuously while heating, cooled and filtered.
- 1ml of the filterate from (a) above was added to 0.5ml of Mayer’s reagent
- 1ml of the filterate from (a) above was added to 0.5ml of Wagner’s reagent.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
RESULT
The qualitative test for alkaloid from powdered Carica papaya leaves using alkaloid reagents. The change associated with the reagents are as follows:
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that Carica papaya leaves contain alkaloid, having identified carpaine. Also, from the result, it can be deduced that alkaloids can be extracted more when the leaves are dried and powdered. To this, it then means that carpaine can be made available commercially. The study has shown that carica papaya can be seen as a potential source of useful food and drug items.
RECOMMENDATION
Having carried out this research work and findings, I therefore recommend that Government should establish more research institute and equip our various scientific research laboratories in different higher institutions of learning to aid in carrying out researches smoothly. The lecturers should encourage students to work on projects that are more practical oriented and make sure that the students are assisted during the practical work. Also Government should carryout sensitization campaign on the need to use carica papaya leaves as medicine for instance, its use in tendering meat, drug formulation etc. I also recommend that more research work be carried out using carica papaya, leaves, seed, barks, fruits. Adverse effect of taking overdose of drug formulated with carica papaya should be made known to people by the government and also by the private individual especially the pharmacists and chemists.
Having discussed the pharmacological properties of carpaine, an alkaloid extracted from carica papaya leave, I recommended that drug manufacturers should use it for drug formulation.
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