Chemical composition of <i>Theobroma cacao</i> L (<i>Sterculiaceae</i>) and <i>Sorghum bicolor</i> (L) Moench, Syn. <i>Sorghum vulgare</i> Pers (<i>Poaceae</i>)

Abstract

<em>Theobroma cacao </em>L (<em>sterculiaceae</em>) and <em>Sorghum bicolor </em>(L) Moench, Syn. <em>Sorghum vulgare</em>. Pers (Poaceae) are plants with well-known medicinal properties. Aqueous extracts of the plant blend are being used in the treatment of anaemia caused by the shortage of iron in patients. It is therefore important to investigate the synergetic effects of the blends on their chemical composition. The proximate, phytochemical and mineral composition of the plants and the blend samples containing 50% (w/w) were evaluated using standard procedures. The proximate composition showed that samples contained a high fraction of carbohydrate compared to other parameters; 36.70% for <em>T. cacao</em>, 48.66% for <em>S. bicolor </em>and 73.59% for the blended sample, respectively. The phytochemical composition of the samples showed the presence of medicinally active constituents like alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phlobatannin, flavonoids and cardiac glucosides. The samples showed moderate phytate composition of 18.53 mg/g, 11.74 mg/g and 14.0 mg/g for <em>T. cacao</em>, <em>S. bicolor</em>, and the blended samples, respectively. The study further revealed that the composition of the phytochemicals/antinutrients were temperature dependent. The mineral analysis of the samples showed the presence of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn with a significant amount of Mg (68.20 mg/100g) and Fe (55.10 mg/100g) observed in the blended sample. Our findings support the ethnomedicinal use of the plants in the treatment of anaemia.