Proximate Composition of Jatropha curcas Leaves, Phytochemical and Antibacterial Analysis of Its Ethyl Acetate Fraction

Resurgence of public interest in the ethnomedical practices in both the developing and developed countries is increasing. Medicinal plants are parts of a plant or the whole plant that possess healing properties. Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae) has been reported severally for its Folkloric uses as herbal remedy for the management of rheumatism, tumor etc. This study was carried out to screen the leaves of Jatropha curcas for its proximate nutrient constituents and also the phytochemicals and antibacterial analysis of the Ethyl acetate leaf extract. Proximate composition results showed high percentage moisture content of (89.70%) and percentage protein content of (4.35%) indicating that Jatropha curcas leaves is a good source of dietary protein. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of eight secondary metabolites (alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, steroids, phlobataninns and cardiac glycosides) were undertaken. The result showed that all secondary metabolites analysed were present in the plant specie studied. Alkaloids and saponins had high percentage concentration (0.6280% and 0.4210%) respectively, which revealed the presence of bioactive compounds. The antibacterial activity of the ethyl acetate leaf extract against Staphylococcus sp, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium sp, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp and Pseudomonas sp showed average zone of inhibition of (17, 31, 33, 52, 37, and 33) respectively. This result confirms the potency of this plant in treating human infections. Overall this study indicates that previously reported antibacterial, anti-inflammatory properties of this herb may be due to their inherent bioactive constituents and its proximate components, thus supporting the claims of the traditional healers.