PROXIMATE COMPOSITION, MINERAL CONTENT AND ANTINUTRITIONAL FACTORS OF LEAVES OF Senna occidentalis (Linn)
AHMED JIBRIN UTTU* , ZAKARIYA BALLAMA MAIMALARI AND MUSA MARYAM USMAN
Department of Chemistry, Federal University, Gashua, Yobe State, Nigeria.
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 13(1): 127-132 (2021)
ABSTRACT
Senna occidentalis belong to the family Fabaceae and it’s widely known in Nigeria for its medicinal usage for
treatment of fevers, coughs, headache, haemorrhage, renal calculi. The aim of this research is to determine the
compositions of proximate, mineral and antinutritional content of the leave of S. occidentalis. The proximate,
mineral and antinutritional composition where determined using standard procedures. The results revealed that
the value of the proximate ranged between 8.67±0.18 to 46.38±0.83 %. The mineral analyses showed that
phosphorus have the highest value (4121.03±0.43 mg/100g) while lead was the least (0.00±0.01 mg/100g). These
indicate that the leaves of S. occidentalis are good source of mineral. The results of antinutritional factors are
20.99±0.04 mg/100g, 0.67±0.09 mg/100g, 0.34±0.13 mg/100g, 0.81±0.04 mg/100g, 66.70±0.18 mg/100g and
2.11±0.14 mg/100g for saponin, tannin, phytate, oxalate, flavonoid and alkaloid respectively. These were found to
be within acceptable levels for human and animal consumption. It can be concluded that the leaves of S.
occidentalis might be a good source of nourishment if properly utilized.
Email of correspondence: jibuttu@yahoo.com
KEYWORDS: Senna occidentalis; Proximate; Antinutritional; Mineral composition.