Academic Journal of Life Sciences ISSN(e): 2415-2137, ISSN(p): 2415-5217 Vol. 2, No. 11, pp: 84-88, 2016 URL: http://arpgweb.com/?ic=journal&journal=18&info=aims *Corresponding Author 84 Academic Research Publishing Group Comparative Anti-Nutrient Composition and Anti-Peroxidative Activities of Various Parts of Candle Bush (Senna Alata Linn) Plant Folake Lucy Oyetayo * Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria Olatunde Abass Oseni Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Science, College of Medicine, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria Temitope A. Kupoluyi Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 1. Introduction Apart from being sources of food, the use of plants by people for therapeutic purposes in all cultures dates back to antiquity. In the developing world, many people depend on wild, edible medicinal plants to meet their healthcare needs [1]. Among these populations, nutrition and healthcare are interconnected as many plants are consumed as food in order to benefit health [2, 3]. Therapeutic claims attributed to medicinal plants have been linked to their content of certain phytochemicals most of which possess among other qualities anti-oxidative [4], antimicrobial [5] and hypocholesterolemic [6] properties. In recent times, research interest is increasing on the nutraceutical value of wild, semi cultivated and uncommon plant species. One of the plants traditionally used in the developing world is the Candle bush tree (Senna alata) locally known as Asunwon oyinbo (Yoruba-Southern Nigeria). It is a pantropical ornamental shrub belonging to ceasal piniaceae. It is commonly known as ringworm plant and widely distributed from tropical America to India [7]. The large, leathery compound leaves are bilateral and fold together at night. The fruit is a pod, while the seeds are small and square in shape. It has been used frequently in herbal medicine to treat different kinds of pathogenic conditions, particularly as a laxative and in treatment of skin infections. Previous workers have reported phytochemical compositions of the Senna plant leaf [8, 9] without reference to the root. The search for novel plants/plant parts with medicinal properties which could serve as substitutes to the conventional drugs which are often expensive in the developing world is imperative. This study aims at comparing the anti-nutrient, anti-microbial and anti-peroxidative compositions of the leaf, seed and root of the Candle bush plant with a view to exploiting their potentials to improve human health. Abstract: The study compared the antinutritive, antimicrobial and anti-peroxidative activities of the leaf, seed and root of the Candle bush (Senna alata (Linn)) plant in vitro. The plant parts were air-dried and analysed according to standard methods. The leaf was found to contain significantly higher concentration (P≤0.05) of oxalate (8.24±0.57 mg/g) than the seed (3.06±0.00 mg/g) or root (3.29±0.06 mg/g) while Tannin concentration was significantly higher in the seed (9.89±1.17 mg/g) than the leaf (7.42±0.00 mg/g) or root (0.16±0.00 mg/g). Phytate concentration was significantly higher in the root (3.29±0.00 mg/g) than the leaf (1.92±0.04 mg/g) or seed (0.3±0.04 mg/g).The root of the plant showed a significantly higher (P≤0.05) anti - peroxidative ability (35.82±0.00%) than the leaf (19.66±0.36%) or seed (31.84±0.70%). The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the plant parts were screened against some bacteria isolates. The ethanolic extract of the leaf showed higher zones of inhibition than the aqueous extract on all organisms tested except on E.coli and P. aeruginosa. Futhermore, the ethanolic extract of the seed showed a higher inhibition on Salmonella typhii, Staphylococus aureus and Clostridium spp. while the aqueous extract of the seed showed higher inhibitory effect on E.coli, P.aeruginosa and B.subtilis. The ethanolic extract of the root showed a higher inhibitory activity against all tested organisms compared to the aqueous extract. Hence, the foregoing shows the plant as a rich source of antinutritive components with potential therapeutic and antimicrobial properties which could replace the conventional synthetic drugs, the cost of which is getting out of reach of large populations in the developing world. Keywords: Senna alata; Anti-peroxidation; Anti-nutrients; Anti-microbial; Isolates.