Extraction, Fatty Acid Profile and Elemental Analysis of Gongronema latifolium (Utazi) Leaf

Medicinal plants are well known support for traditional medicine system that are used to mitigate human diseases. The African continent and culture have provided evidence of the efficacy of indigenously grown plants as remedies against diseases. The effectiveness of these plants are as a result of the presence of secondary metabolites. In this study, the fatty acid profile, the active components and elemental (mineral) composition of Gongronema latifolium (Utazi) leaf were evaluated. Extraction was conducted using Ultrasound and Soxhlet extractor.The isolation and elemental compositions were determined using TLC and AAS respectively. The results of the fatty acid profile analysis indicated that oleic acid; (C18:1) was contained highest with a  value of 21.61135 µg/mL ± 0.664, followed by palmitic acid (C16:0) which had 16.054 µg/mL ± 0.677, followed by mystic acid (C14:0) (14.5081 µg/mL ± 1.355) and the least contained fatty acid was docosahexaneoic acid (24:0) (7.2603 µg/mL ± 0.604). The total saturated fatty acid content of the leaf extract of Gongronema latifolium was 72.771 µg/mL, which was higher than 46.6336 µg/mL of the total amount of unsaturated fatty acid. The Retention factor (Rf) value of the active components in aqueous extract of the TLC analysis using acetone: water: ammonium in a ratio of 90:3:7 produced four components with four colours which were 1.32 (yellow), 1.24 (gray), 1.36 (greenr), and 1.40 (brown), respectively. The results of the elemental analysis showed that K was the highest contained element with 8.975 ppm, followed by S; (8.245 %), Zn; (2.4662 ppm), and Ca; (1.6035 ppm), respectively. The least contained elements were As; (0.014 ppm) and Pb; (0.00165 ppm), respectively. The results of the analysis suggest that Gongronema latifolium leaf contains a diverse range of fatty acids, reasonable concentration of essential elements, but with less quantities of some heavy metals which are potential health hazards upon accumulation in the body. Ultrasound Assisted Extraction gave a yield of Crude Extract which produced 12-15%(~19-24g) and Bioactive Compounds Flavonoids (Kaempferol, quercetin) Alkaloids, Saponins, Polyphenols, terpenoids.