| dc.description.abstract | Background: Plants continue to play a vital role in their therapeutic value. This is because of the vast secondary metabolites that many of them produce. These natural products have been utilised as single or in combination with other compounds for utilization as source of drugs for many ailments in form of antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals, antihelminthes, and antimalarials among others. Plants evaluated phytochemically in most cases have previous reports on biological activity, ethnomedicinal or traditional medicine usage. However, many other plants with no such previous reports may be as important with variety of natural products with potential significance in pharmaceuticals for drug development. Dierama cupuliflorum is one such plant. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of phytochemicals in this plant. Method : The organic solvent extracts from Methanol: Dichloromethane (1:1) along with dry powder/ground portions from corms and aerial parts were screened for the presence of selected phytochemicals using standard chemical procedures. Results: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of terpenoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavanoids, glycosides and anthraquinones. More phytochemicals were detected in corms than in the aerial parts. Conclusion: Although there is no available report on the use of this plant for medicinal purposes, the phytochemical data presented here has demonstrated that this plant has the potential to be used significantly for therapeutic purposes in many health challenges. This study has therefore laid down a good foundation for future studies on this plant whose bioactivity studies are currently underway | en_US |
