Abstract

The elucidation of Rhizophora racemosa wood was analysed for thermal, chemical, physical and variable techniques. The results obtained were as follows: afterglow time 115.67sec, flame duration 260sec, flame propagation rate 9.7x10-2 cm.s-1, ignition time 4sec, thermal conductivity 16.79x102 Umoh/cm, electrical conductivity 4.2x10-3 Sm-1, ash content 1.11%, moisture content 33.59%, oven dry density 37.9x10-2 g.cm-3, water imbibitions (at different time intervals: 30 min 30.2%, 5 h 59.8% and 24 h 102.2%), etc, These results showed it to serve as a good timber suitable for various construction purposes. The elemental analysis obtained through Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) indicated the absence of Cd, as well as the presence of Hg, Cu, Ca, Zn, Mg, K, As, Pb and Na in their increasing order of magnitude, respectively as follows: 0.001, 0.023, 0.01, 0.016, 0.20, 0,29, 0.38, 0.45 and 1.33%. The Thin Layer Chromatographic (TLC) analysis of the chloroform and chloroform-methanol extracts which gave three spots with Retardation factor (Rf) values of 0.5, 0.7 and 0.5 was further characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopic methods . The FTIR and UV spectra suggested that the active compound might be 1,2,3-trisubstituted aromatic compound with C=O, O-H and C=N groups attached. The phytochemical screening showed the presence of all the tested secondary metabolites which indicated its therapeutic ability. Their proportions are indicated thus; saponins (12.2%), tannins (900 Mg/100g), flavonoids (2.0%), carbohydrates (1.29 Mg/g), proteins (4.66%), glycosides (680 Mg/100g) and alkaloids (6.0%). The chemical components analysis showed the presence of cellulose 41%, hemicelluloses 28%, lignin 24% and other constituents in their right proportion. The results provided the required information on the properties of Rhizophora racemosa wood. It also confirmed the efficacy of the wood for various construction purposes and its medicinal ability due to the presence of the secondary metabolites.