Abstract

Acalypha wilkesiana Hoffmanni is a medicinal plant used in herbal clinical practice in Nigeria and this is due to the combined effects of the phytochemical components it contains. This study was carried out to determine the qualitative and quantitative phytochemical constituents according to prescribed standard methods. The extraction was done with soxhlet extractor using hexane and ethanol solvents respectively. The resulting crude extracts were concentrated in a rotary evaporator. The result indicated glycoside, terpenoid, alkaloid, saponin, steroid, phenolic and eugenol for hexane extract while glycoside, terpenoid, alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid, tannin and eugenol were present in the ethanol extract. The quantitative phytochemicals indicated total phenolic content of 0.44%, total saponin content of 0.50%, total flavonoids content of 0.91% total tannin content of 0.33% and alkaloids content 5.00% for hexane extract while the ethanol extract has total phenolic content of 1.14%, total saponin content of 0.58%, total flavonoids content of 1.01% total tannin content total of 0.45% and alkaloids content 8.33%. The phytochemicals present suggests that the plant contains bioactive chemical constituents useful for pharmacological formulation.