Phytochemical Screening of Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae) Aerial Parts

Introduction: Ageratum conyzoides L. (Family Asteraceae) is an annual herb with a long history of traditional medicinal use in the tropical and sub-tropical region of the world. The present study was designed to screen out the major groups of phytochemicals found in the aerial part of A. conyzoides.

Methodology: The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaves, stem and flowers of A. conyzoides as well as the entire aerial part of the plant as a whole underwent qualitative using specific standard methods. The identified classes of metabolites in the different extracts were then quantified using spectrophotometric methods.

Results: Phytochemical analysis of the A. conyzoides extracts revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenol, steroids, phlobatannins, saponins, and coumarins. The quantitative phytochemical analysis of the extracts of A. conyzoides revealed that the aqueous maceration of the leaves of A. conyzoides had the highest content in polyphenols, flavonoids and tannins compared to the ethanolic leaf extract as well as the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the stems, flowers and combined aerial parts. Meanwhile, the total alkaloid content was highest in the hydroethanolic maceration of the combined aerial parts of the plant compared to the aqueous extract of the combined aerial parts as well as the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaves, stems and flowers.

Conclusion: This study also shows that the extracts of A. conyzoides are extensively rich in secondary metabolites which could explain the application of the plant in the treatment of several ailments in traditional medicine.