Abstract

---

Diospyros mespiliformis is ubiquitously found plant in northern Nigerian farms and forests. Previously, various parts of this plant were reported for treatment of different types of diseases and there was neither a report of collection of the plant’s fruit pulp and seed from Dutsin-Ma nor on GC Ms analysis. Preliminary phytochemical screenings of n-hexane and methanol extracts were carried out according to standard procedures. Various bioactive compounds’ characterization of the extracts was done by GC-MS technique. The phytochemical analysis of the crude extracts of the n-hexane and methanol on the seed plant revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phlobatanins, saponins, steroidal nucleus, tannins, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinones, cardenolides, and terpenoids. The GC MS analysis of pulp showed 26 peaks of different phytoconstituents of which major components are: octanoic acid, decanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, 6-octadecenoic acid and eicosanoic acid; while the GC-MS analysis of seed showed 22 peaks of different phytoconstituents of which major components are: hexadecanoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, 9 octadecenoic acid and 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid. In conclusion, both the presence of phytochemicals detected from the phytochemical screening and the high unsaturated fatty acid content analyzed from GC-MS confirm the reports of the applications of Diospyros mespiliformis for the treatment of various diseases.

Keywords: GC-MS, Extract, compounds, Diospyros Mespiliformis