International Journal of Research and Current Development Available Online at http://www.journalijrcd.com RESEARCH ARTICLE PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND MINERAL COMPOSITION OF ANNONA MURICATA LEAVES Usunobun Usunomena 1* and Okolie N. Paulinus 2 1 Department of Basic sciences (Biochemistry unit), Faculty of Basic and Applied sciences, Benson Idahosa University, P.M.B 1100, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria 2 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life sciences, University of Benin, Benin city Keywords: Annona muricata, Leaves, Minerals, Quantitative, Phytochemicals Article history : Received on 27 April, 2015; received in revised form, 7 May, 2015; accepted, 15 May, 2015; published 28 May, 2015 ABSTRACT: Many local vegetable materials are under-exploited because of inadequate scientific knowledge of their nutritional potentials. For this reason, the phytochemicals and mineral composition of the leaves of Annona muricata obtained from Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria were investigated. The mineral analysis was done using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric analysis method while phytochemical screening was determined using standard methods. The result of the phytochemical analysis shows the following: saponins (3.50%), alkaloids (1.20%), flavonoids (9.67%), tannins (0.18%), beta-carotene (6.60mg/100g), ascorbic acid (38.16mg/100g) and reducing sugars (48.33%) The result also shows that the mineral concentrations are as follow: potassium (363.05mg/kg), calcium (11183.50mg/kg), sodium (694.86mg/kg), magnesium (9619mg/kg), iron (139.50mg/kg), zinc (8.34mg/kg), manganese (8.25.00mg/kg), chromium, (3.75mg/kg), copper, (14.25mg/kg), cadmium (5.49mg/kg). The results obtained from the analysis shows that the leaves of Annona muricata are medicinal and could be good source of drugs for anemia because of the high contents of iron and calcium. INTRODUCTION: Annona muricata, commonly known in English speaking countries as ‘soursop’ and ‘ebo’ in Yoruba, is an upright, low-branching tree reaching 8 to 10 meters (popenoe, 1920; Mowry et al., 1953; Morton, 1987). The tree has green, glossy evergreen leaves, and the flowers appear anywhere on the trunk or any branch (Morton, 1966). Traditionally, the leaves are used for headaches, insomnia, cystitis, liver problems, diabetes, hypertension and as an anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic and anti-dysenteric (Di Stasi and Hiruma-Lima, 2002; Sousa et al., 2004). In the West Indies, various parts of the plant, including the leaves, bark and roots have been used to treat disease conditions such as diabetes (Adeyemi et al., 2008, 2010) and arthritis. Other reported medicinal QUICK RESPONSE CODE  Corresponding author: Usunobun Usunomena Department of Basic sciences (Biochemistry unit), Benson Idahosa University, P.M.B 1100, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria, Article can be accessed online on: www.journalijrcd.com Copyright © Usunobun Usunomena et al ., This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. uses of Annona muricata include its anticancer (Oberlies et al., 1997; Liaw et al., 2002), antibacterial and antifungal actions, as well as, its antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects (de Sousa et al., 2010). The plant has been reported to possess acetogenins as major phytoconstitutents (Padma et al.,1996) which are responsible for a number of activities such as antitumor, immunomodulator, anti-spasmodic, anti-malarial, pesticidal, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-helmintic activity (Padma, 1997). This study is aimed at determining the quantitative phytochemicals and mineral composition of Annona muricata leaves. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Collection and preparation of plant leaves: Fresh leaves of Annona muricata were collected from the tree in Ugbowo in Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria and identified by Dr. Chris Akoma, a Botanist in the Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences, Benson Idahosa University, Benin city, Edo State. The Annona muricata leaves were separated from the stalk, washed and air-dried at IJRCD