DETERMINATION OF MINERAL CONCENTRATION OF BITTER LEAF
ABSTRACT
This study were conducted on the mineral concentration of (vernonia amygdalina) through the analysis of some physiological important mineral. The sample procured, sun- dried, grounded and digested. The digested sample were analyzed for the concentration of sodium, potassium, calcium, iron and zinc using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The result of the analysis revealed that it contain 1.2mg/g, potassium 5.0mg/g, iron 25.0mg/g and zinc 13mg/g. The rich concentration of essential mineral in bitterleaf (vernonia amygdalina) is physiologyical significance. The mineral are essential for blood volume maintenance, water balance, cell membrane potential, synthesis of red blood cells, enzymatic activities and other physiological activities. The result justifies the nutritional mineral usefulness of bitter leaf.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
1.0    INTRODUCTION                       
1.1    Background of the Study                   
1.2    Objective of the Study                      
1.3    Statement of the Problem                  
1.4    Significance of the Study                   
CHAPTER TWO
2.0    LITERATURE REVIEW                     
2.1    Description of Bitterleaf (Vernonia amygdaline)   
2.1.1 Taxonomica Classification      
2.1.2 Major Uses and Function of Bitterleaf
(Vernonia Amygdalina)                  
2.1.3 Pharmacological Application           
2.1.4 Medicinal Uses                  
2.2     Some Essential Minerals and their
Physiological Roles                  

CHAPTER THREE
3.0    MATERIALS AND METHOD          
3.1    Material                                   
3.1.1 Reagents                              
3.1.2 Apparatus/Instrument                 
3.2    Sampling Methods                   
3.2.1 Sample Collection                       
3.2.2 Sample Preparation                    
3.3    Procedure                     
3.3.1 Digestion of Sample                 
3.3.2 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) Assay
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0    RESULTS                                

CHAPTER FIVE
5.0    DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION
AND RECOMMENDATION                  
5.1    Discussion                             
5.2    Conclusion                             
5.3    Recommendation                   

    References                            

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Medicinal plants have been widely used by both accident and modern man of all culture for treating different aliments. A single plant processed in different formulation can be used to cure a wide range of disease. The universality and efficiency of traditional medicine/medicinal herb is evident in their continued use and dependence up till the present day by a significant portion of the world’s population (Mathew et al., 1999).
However, the historic role of medicinal herbs in the treatment and prevention of disease and in the development of pharmacology do not assure their safety for uncontrolled use by an uniformed public (Mathews et al., 1999) injuries and even death resulting from misuse, contamination and adulteration of medicinal herbs have been reported (De Smet et al., 1997).
In spite of the efficiency of the medicinal herbs in the treatment of various kinds of aliment the unrefined nature of the preparation and the lack of standard prescription on dosage constitute a major setback in the use of herbs in medicare. These two weak points on the medicinal herbs can lead to complication in human system resulting from bio-accumulation of plant ingredients due to over consumption of the herbs(okafor,1987).Other cause of complication include uptake of toxic plant ingredient, and  possible herb/herb and herb/drug interactions (Okafor, 1987, Mathew et al., 1999).
Vernonia amyadaline del. belong to the family Asteraceae, tribe vernonieae and it is widely distributed in Nigeria (Hutchinson and Dalziel, 1963) The plant is a perennial shrub or small three, usually cultivated for its leaf as vegetable, medicinal traditional and domestic uses. The leaves have a very bitter taste, due to its chemical content (Lasekan et al., 1998) which are responsible for its medicinal and anti-microbial properties (Okoh et al., 1995) Herbal preparation made from leaves of V. amygdalina are used in curing aliment such as malaria, measles, dysentery, onchocerciasis, yellow fever, constipation, stomach pain, etc. while slender roots and stem branches of the plant are used as chewing stick that are very effective in dental care (Oluwalana and Adekunle, 1998) Herbal preparation of various form are prepared from different parts of bitter leaf plant, but the easiest form is the fresh leaf extract, which is prepared by squeezing the leaves with water. The leaf extract is usually taken raw by people at an unregulated rats depending on the severity of the alment (Eisenberg et al., 1993).
The unrefined nature of the herbal preparation coupled with the apparent lack of specificity or precision in the application of the plant in traditional medicine could lead to over dosage of the herbal medicinal, which can result in accumulation of essential and non-essential plant ingredient in the human system. The accumulation can reach a toxic level, especially in the system of people who rely heavily on unrefined herbal product, with serve consequence on the biochemical and genetic system.

1.2    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Several researches have been carried out on bitter leaf plant (Vernoia amygdaline) and result have shown that it has both medicinal and pharmacological properties. However, there are very few documented information about its medicinal potential relating to the essential mineral properties inherent in the leaf of the plant. Consequently, this work is aimed at determining some mineral present in a sample of the bitter leaf.

1.3    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Several report have been made on the biochemical pharmacological and medicinal properties of bitter leaf plant (Vernonia amygdalina) but these cannot be complete without information on its medicinal potential via its essential mineral contents.
1.4    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research work will give an overview of the essential mineral such as sodium, potassium, iron and zinc, that are present in vernonia amydalina. I am intrigued by the wide pharmacological and medicinal application vernonia amydaline plant is gaining these days following scientific report. The result of this research work would add more value to be biochemical, pharmacological and medicinal application of vernonia amygdaline plant in Nigeria and beyond.

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