标题：EVALUATION OF METAL IONS CONCENTRATIONS, TOTAL FLAVONOID CONTENT AND DPPH FREE RADICALS SCAVENGING IN THE FRUITS OF TETRAPLEURA TETRAPTERA (PREKESE) FROM GHANA
摘要：Tetrapleura tetraptera , widely known in Ghana as "Prekese" is one of the widely used medicinal plants in West Africa. Its fruits possess considerable quantities of mineral elements and some phytochemicals. It is highly imperative to know some of its unique trace element and phytochemical constituents to standardize its use as potential raw materials.. Flame atomic absorption spectrometry, after microwave-assisted acid digestion was employed to determine the metal ion contents in dried fruits (pulp) of Tetrapleura tetraptera in eight (8) major markets in Ghana. DPPH radical scavenging assay was used to evaluate the radical scavenging activity of extracts of the dried fruit while the aluminium chloride assay method using quercetin as a standard was used to determine the total flavonoids in the dried pulp . Iron was the most dominant mineral element while Nickel was the least dominant mineral element. The concentrations, based on three replicate measurements of the essential metal ions were observed in the range of 4.11±1.41-54.08±0.00, 3.12±0.35-5.27±0.40, 0.003±0.00-0.97±0.25, 0.31±0.15-2.15±1.95, 0.32±0.23-1.06±0.08 mg/Kg (milligrams per kilograms) for Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and Ni respectively. On the other hand, the concentration of toxic lead (Pb) was in the range of 1.44±1.11-10.59±8.49 mg/Kg. The total flavonoid contents in the fruits ranged between 19.042 to 83.713 QE/g.
