Chemical characterization and therapeutic potentials of Tetrapleura Tetraptera (Aidan) seed oil

Abstract

Medicinal plants are fundamental elements in primary healthcare systems worldwide, especially in developing countries due to limited access to modern medicine. Identification and chemical characterization of these plants provide insight into their therapeutic potentials and possible incorporation into synthetic drugs. This study investigated the chemical characterization and therapeutic potentials of Tetrapleura tetraptera, a popular, but under studied medicinal plant.  Oil extraction and chemical analyses were respectively done using soxlet method and HPLC with UV-DAD detector. The extraction yielded 26.36% oil. Twenty secondary metabolites belonging to   various classes were identified. The most prominent were flavonoids (kaemmferol, Rutin, flavan-3-ol, epicatechin, naringenin, naringin, flavonones, flavone and anthocyanin) followed by  alkaloids (lunamarin, spartein, epihedrine and rebalinidine). Others include glycosides (cardiac glycosides and cyanogenic glycosides), steroids and steroid derivatives (steroids and sapogenin) and non-flavonoid polyphenol (resveratrol). Antinutrients (phytate and oxalate) were equally identified. Free fatty acids present in the oil included six saturated (dodecanoic, tetradecanoic, hexadecanoic, octadecanoic, eicosanoic and docosanoic acids), one monounsaturated (Cis-9-octadecanoic acid) and  four polyunsaturated fatty acids that included cis-9,12-octadecanoic, cis-9,12,15- octadecanoic, all-cis-5, 8,11,14-eicosatraenoic and all-cis-7, 10,13,16-docosatetraenoic acids.  Twelve essential and six  non-essential amino acids were equally present in significant concentrations. The essential amino acids present included valine, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenyl alanine, histidine, tryptohan, arginine, tyrosine and cystine. Glycine, alanine, serine, proline, aspartate and glutamate are the non-essential amino acids identified. Asparagine and glutamate were not detected. The chemical analyses indicate that Tetrapleura tetraptera seed oil has diverse chemical profile with pharmacological potential for treatment of common ailments.