Proceedings of 4 th ISERD International Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 16 th June 2015, ISBN: 978-93-85465-34-5 49 PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIPROLIFERATIVE EFFECTS OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF STEM BARK OF DIOSPYROS MESPILIFORMIS HOCHST (EBENACEAE) 1 ANAS ABBA, 2 ABDULKARIM AGUNU, 3 ABUBAKAR AHMED, 4 YAHYA IBRAHIM, 5 USMAN MOHAMMAD JAJERE, 6 UMAR SULEIMAN ABUBAKAR, 7 ABUBAKAR MOHAMMED KABIR . 1,2,3,7 Department of Science Laboratory Technology, College of Science and Technology, Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, P.M.B; 5004, Kazaure, Jigawa State, Postal code;234, Nigeria. 1,2,3 Department of Pharmacognocy and Drug Development, Faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna, Nigeria. 4,5,6 Department of Pharmacognocy and Drug Development, Faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna, Nigeria. E-mail: 1 anasringim@yahoo.co.uk, 2 agunua@yahoo.com , 3 ahmedabubakar@abu.edu, Abstract-According to ethnomedicinal information plant Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst (Ebenaceae) is commonly known as Kanya in Northern Nigeria which has been used widely in treating various ailments such as fever, whooping cough, wounds. Malaria, Pneumonia, Syphilis, Leprosy, Dermatomycoses, Diarrhea without scientific validation. Preliminary Phytochemical screening, Thin layer chromatographic profile of methanol crude extract and antiproliferative studies were carried out in this research. Preliminary Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of Carbohydrate, Glycoside, Anthraquinone, Steroid, Triterpenes, Saponin, Tannins, Flavonoids and Alkaloid. TLC profile of the crude extract gave four sports with good R f values. Antiproliferative evaluation were carried out using Guinea corn (Sorghum bicolour) seeds spread in a 9 cm wide petridish laid with cotton wool and Whatman filter paper which was treated with 1-30 mg/ml of methanolic extract in 24-96 hr period of incubation. At 24 hrs of incubation, the methanol extracts had 24.771 ± 0.526 mm length of growth for the controls whereas the seeds treated with 10, 20, and 30 mg/ml of the extract produced a length total of 2.772 ± 0.494 mm, 2.150 ± 0.490 mm and 2.257 ± 0.489 mm respectively, while at the end of 96 hours of incubation period, the radicles length of the control seeds measured 93.77 ± 9.730 mm while those treated with 10, 20, and 30 mg/ml were observed to be 37 ± 3.297 mm, 17.023 ± 2.802 mm and 16.086 ± 1.976 mm. This reduction in the growth implied 60.54, 81.87 and 82.83% respectively compared to the controls. All data were expressed as mean±SEM and one way Analysis of Variance Anova statistical test using SAS Version 9.2 to test the significance. P<0.05 was considered Significance.This study has scientifically justified the traditional uses of Diospyros mespiliformis stem bark extracts for it has an antiproliferative property against radicles of a Guinea corn (Sorghum bicolour) which may relate to its use as anticancer agent. However, use of cancer cell lines will further confirm this claim. Keyword-Antiproliferative effects , Diospyros Mespiliformis, Phytochemical, I. INTRODUCTION Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst (Ebenaceae) has a fantastic mutualism and symbiotic network with many living organisms, from human beings to small insects. There is a complex ecological system revolving around this tree. It is one of the savanna giants that can live for more than 200 years. It is a tall, upright tree that can reach a height of 25 m, with a trunk circumference of more than 5 m. It has a dense evergreen canopy [1] The bark is black to grey, with a rough texture. The fresh inner skin of the bark is reddish. Leaves are simple, alternate, leathery and dark green. The margin is smooth and new leaves in spring are red, especially in young plants. Flowers are cream-coloured and bell-shaped [1]. Among Hausa Fulani people of Jigawa in Nigeria, Diospyros mespiliformis Hochst (Ebenaceae) happens to be one of such plant used in the treatment of tumor-related disease. In local Nigerian language (Hausa) the plant is known as Kanya. This very plant is not used only to treat tumor related disease but also to treat diseases such as fever, malaria, pneumonia, syphilis, leprosy, dermatomycoses [2]. It is also used in the treatment of diarrhea, whooping cough, wounds [3]. II. MATERIAL AND METHOD Collection and authentication of plant material The plant specimen for the studies were collected from Ringim local government of Jigawa State, Nigeria in January 2013. It was authenticated by a Taxonomist Muhammad Umar Galla of Biological Sciences Department, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with voucher specimen number 901431. Extraction of plant materials About 200g of powdered plant material were macerated in a separating funnel with 600ml of Methanol for one day (24hr) at room temperature with occasional shaking. The content was then filtered with cotton plug. The filtrate were then concentrated to dryness using a water bath at 60 0 C. Preliminary Phytochemical Studies This procedure was carried out on the Methanol extracts according to [4],[5],[6] and [7] as outlined below.