COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PHYTOCHEMICAL AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF OCIMUM BASILICUM AND OCIMUM GRATISSIMUM LEAVES EXTRACTED WITH ETHANOL AND AQUEOUS SOLVENTS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extraction, proximate analysis, and total phenolic and flavonoid content of the plants Ocimum gratissimum and Ocimum basilicum that are used in Kaduna State's Kaduna North Local Government region. Quercetin was employed as a reference, and the absorbance was measured at 510 nm. The Folin-Ciocalteau assay was used to assess the total phenolic content, and the Aluminum chloride colorimetric assay was used to measure the total flavonoids spectrophotometrically. Protein, carbohydrate, and fat were the subjects of the proximate analysis. The ethanolic extract of Ocimum basilicum had the highest TPC value (18.942), while the aqueous extract of Ocimum gratissimum had the lowest TPC value (2.58). Similarly, the aqueous extracts of Ocimum gratissimum had the highest TFC value (111.873), while the ethanolic extract had the lowest, both of which are highly significant at p<0.05. The high concentration of this phytochemical suggests that the leaves may contain bioactive compounds with potent biological activity that might be isolated, as well as significant compounds.