QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE METHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS AND THEIR THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Plants specifically herbal medicines have received much attention as source of new antibacterial drugs since they are considered as time-tested and comparatively safe both for human use and the environment. They have been used for thousands of years to flavour and conserve food, to treat health disorders and to prevent diseases including epidemics. All over the globe, the use of medicinal plants has significantly supported primary health care. Popular observations on the use and efficacy of medicinal plants significantly contribute to the disclosure of their therapeutic properties, so that they are frequently prescribed, even if their chemical constituents are not always completely known. Plants used in traditional medicine contain a vast array of substances that can be used to treat chronic and infectious diseases. Active compounds produced during secondary vegetal metabolism are usually responsible for the biological properties of some plant species used throughout the globe for various purposes, including treatment of infectious diseases. The qualitative phytochemical components of the five medicinal plants (Acacia nilotica, Chrozophora senegalensis, Acanthospermum hispidum, Carissa edulis and Tribulus terrestris ) were determined using conventional protocol and the overall results indicated the presence of flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, tannins, terpenoids and saponins while alkaloids, soluble starch and phlobotannins were absent. Free and combined anthraquinones were present only in A. nilotica. The presence of these bioactive metabolites further confirms the use of these medicinal plants in some parts of Northern Nigeria for their therapeutic effectiveness against infectious and non-infectious diseases.