Open Journal of Depression, 2023, 12, 23-40 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ojd ISSN Online: 2169-9674 ISSN Print: 2169-9658 DOI: 10.4236/ojd.2023.123003 Aug. 15, 2023 23 Open Journal of Depression Phytochemical Analysis of Selected Medicinal Plants Used in Management of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Goma City, Democratic Republic of the Congo Samuel Kule Kyolo 1 , Godfrey S. Bbosa 1 , Noeline Nakasujja 2 , Norah Mwebaza 1 , Zacharie Tsongo Kibendelwa 3 , John Odda 1 , Esther Katuura 4 1 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Mekerere University, Kampala, Uganda 2 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Human Medicine, University of Goma (UNIGOM), Democratic Republic of the Congo 4 Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Abstract Background: Latex of Euphorbia abyssinica (J. F. Gmel) (EA) and leaves of Cleome gynandra L.(CG), Conyza symatrensis (Retz) E. Walker (CS) and Emilia coccinea (Sims) G. Don (EC) are medicinal plant materials (MPMs) commonly used in treatment of mental illnesses (MIs) in folk medicine of Goma city, in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). However, there is still limited information on phytochemical contents of these MPMs. Objec- tive: To screen phytochemicals of the commonly used MPMs and to deter- mine total contents of those with reported anxiolytic and anti-depressive ac- tivities. Methods: Phytochemical analysis involving both qualitative and quantitative aspects was carried out in Goma city in DRC and at Makerere University in Uganda from February to June 2022. Medicinal plant materials were extracted by methanol 90%, diethyl ether and water for eight hours rep- licated three times. Various qualitative tests were used in phytochemicals screening using Throth, Dragendroff, Borntrager, Salkowski, Nitric Acid, Ferric Chloride, Translucent Spot, for detecting saponins, alkaloids, carbohy- drates, phytosterols, amino-acid, phenols and fatty acid respectively. Total contents of phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids and phytosteroids were determined using Folin Ciocalteau, aluminium chloride, bromocresol green-complex as- say, Liberman-Burchard methods respectively. Results: Various phytochem- How to cite this paper: Kyolo, S. K., Bbo- sa, G. S., Nakasujja, N., Mwebaza, N., Ki- bendelwa, Z. T., Odda, J., & Katuura, E. (2023). Phytochemical Analysis of Selected Medicinal Plants Used in Management of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders in Goma City, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Open Journal of Depression, 12, 23-40. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojd.2023.123003 Received: June 25, 2023 Accepted: August 12, 2023 Published: August 15, 2023 Copyright © 2023 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access