PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF ALEO VERA LEAVES EXTRACT

ABSTRACT This study aim to determine the phytochemical analysis of Aloe Vera leaves extract. Fresh, mature leaves of Aloe Vera were collected from a local farm/Garden in Maiduguri. After collection, the leaves were thoroughly washed under running tap water to remove any dirt or debris. The outer green rind was carefully removed, and the inner gel was separated from the yellow latex layer for analysis. Different solvents were used for extraction to obtain a broad spectrum of phytochemicals. Common extraction methods include maceration, Soxhlet extraction, and ultrasonic assisted extraction. Qualitative phytochemical screening was performed on the prepared extracts to Identify the presence of major classes of secondary metabolites. Quantitative analysis was also performed to determine the concentration of specific phytochemicals or classes of compounds in the Aloe Vera extracts. Data obtained from this study was subjected to Analysis of Varian (ANOVA). The result for qualitative phytochemical screening shows that alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, glycosides, carbohydrates, and proteins, were present in both aqueous, ethanolic and methanolic extracts. This indicates that these compounds are either highly abundant or possess a wide range of solubility across different polarities. Triterpenoid and steroids were detected only in the ethanolic and methanolic extracts. This suggests that these compoundswere less polar and more efficiently extracted by organic solvents like ethanol and methanol. The result for quantitative phytochemical screening shows revealed that ethanolic extract exhibited significantly higher TPC and TFC compared to the aqueous and methanolic extracts (p < 0.05). The TPC of the ethanolic extract was 89.7 mg GAE/g, whilethat of the aqueous and Methanolic extracts were 55.2 mg and 37.7mg GAE/g. Similarly, the TFC of the ethanolicextract was 45.1 mg QE/g, compared to 28.5 mg QE/g for the aqueous extract and 18.6mg for Methanolic extract respectively. Based on the study's findings it is concluded that extracts with various quantities of distinct chemicals might be made using various solvents. The comprehensive phytochemical analysis conducted in this study confirms the rich array of bioactive compounds present in Aloe Vera leaves extract. The qualitative screening provided a broad overview, while quantitative analysis offered precisemeasurements of total phenolic and flavonoid content. Keywords: Aloe Vera, Screening, Phytochemical, solvent, Extract