Proximate, elemental, phytochemical and anti-fungal analysis of Acacia nilotica fruit

Objective: Acacia nilotica fruit has been used to treat different diseases. The significance of the plant in traditional medicine and the importance of the distribution of these chemical constituents were discussed with respect to the role of this plant in ethno-medicinal usage in Nigeria. In the present study, the fruit of A. nilotica was subjected to elemental, phytochemical and antifungal analysis.Methods: The extraction was done with ethanol and hexane using soxhlet apparatus. The elemental analysis was done using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophometer. The phytochemical investigation of the ethanol and hexane extract of A. nilotica fruit was carried out. The extracts were evaluated for their antifungal activity.Results: The proximate analysis showed that moisture content was 12.6±0.02 %, crude fibre 11.1±0.03 %, crude lipid 15.8±0.01 %, ash content 5.0±0.01 %, crude protein 1.3±0.02 % and carbohydrate 54.2±0.02 %. The elemental analysis showed various concentrations of Ca, Zn, Mg, Mn, Ni, Cr, Fe, Cd while Co was absent. The phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of tannins, steroids, saponins, phenols, alkaloids, cardenolides, terpenoids, carbohydrates, cardiac glycosides, resins and balsams. The antifungal analysis of ethanol extract on Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavon, Fusarium oxyfurum and Penicillium Spp showed an increase in the zone of inhibition and an increase in the concentration of the A. nilotica fruit extracts when measured in mm.Conclusion: Acacia nilotica has both nutritional and medicinal values based on the presence of numerous secondary metabolites and essential metals. The plant studied here can be seen as a potential source of useful drugs and further studies are going on in order to isolate, identify, characterize and elucidate the structure of the bioactive compounds.