PROXIMATE AND PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF IPOMOEA ASARIFOLIA

The phytochemical and proximate composition of Ipomoea asarifolia, a tropical plant of extensive distribution that is traditionally used for medicinal and nutritional purposes, was investigated. The objective was to identify the nutritional potential of the plant and the presence of bioactive compounds that could justify its ethnobotanical applications and determine its viability for utilization as a dietary or pharmaceutical product. Proximate analysis revealed that I. asarifolia contains high nutritional components. Carbohydrate content was the highest with 58.98%, followed by moisture content (15%), lipid (10%), ash (10%), and crude protein (6.02%). The finding indicates that the plant is high in energy and moderately rich in protein and therefore would be more valuable when used as a supplement food or animal feed resource. Phytochemical screening revealed the existence of some bioactive compounds. Flavonoids (18.4%) and alkaloids (14.0%) were most prominent, followed by tannins (1.46%) and phytates (0.98%). These secondary metabolites possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities, which justify the traditional medicinal use of the plant. The results show that Ipomoea asarifolia possesses therapeutic and nutritional promise. The composition shows promise for application in the formulation of nutraceuticals, traditional medicine, and animal feed formulation. It is recommended that more work should be conducted to investigate its pharmacological activities and also optimize the processing conditions to reduce anti-nutritional factors.