FTIR-based profiling of functional groups in four indigenous African medicinal trees for natural product discovery

The rising global demand for natural and sustainable products has prompted more targeted research on indigenous African medicinal tree species. This research presents the findings of an investigation on extracts from four native medicinal tree species; Calophyllum inophyllum, Cola nitida, Kigelia africana, and Pleioceras barteri. These trees were selected based on their traditional medicinal uses, availability and scanty information on their bioactive compounds. The dataset identified and characterized the bioactive compounds in the plant extracts, providing valuable insights into their potential medicinal and therapeutic properties. The plant extracts were prepared from leaves and stem barks using ethanol as solvent. Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier-Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to obtain the infrared spectra of the extracts, which provided information about the functional groups present in the molecules. The result of the spectroscopy revealed the presence of major classes of metabolites including alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides, steroids, organic acids and quinones. This dataset provides a valuable resource for researchers studying the medicinal properties of indigenous plants, drug discovery, and natural product chemistry. The information can be utilized to identify potential bioactive compounds, guide further chemical analysis, and inform the development of new natural products.