Phytochemical Screenings and Proximate Analysis of Different Parts of Senna alata Collected in Besut, Terengganu

This study is conducted to determine the presence of bioactive compounds in leaves, stems and flowers of Senna alata, to characterize the bioactive compound identified from its different parts and to investigate the proximate composition of different parts of Senna alata collected in Besut, Terengganu. Samples of Senna alata leaves, stems, and flowers were collected in Kampung Paya Rawa, Besut, Terengganu. Phytochemical screening and GC-MS analysis were used to determine the chemical composition of different parts of Senna alata. The samples were also subjected to proximate analysis to determine their moisture, ash, crude fibre, crude protein, crude fat, and carbohydrate contents. Standard methods were used: moisture content by oven drying, ash content by muffle furnace incineration, crude fibre by acid and alkali digestion, crude protein by the Kjeldahl method, crude fat by Soxhlet extraction, and carbohydrate content calculated by difference. Data obtained from proximate analysis were analysed with one-way ANOVA. The findings show the presence of bioactive compounds in leaves, stems, and flowers of Senna alata such as alkaloid, phenol, tannin, saponin, quinone, and terpenoid which shows biological and pharmacological activities that proved the medicinal properties in Senna alata. GC-MS analysis reveals the detection of derivatives compound of azetidine, thiophene, thiazole, and triazole that supports the ethnomedicinal claims of Senna alata to treat various diseases. The results also reveal significant variations in the proximate composition among the different plant parts. The flower part exhibited the highest levels of moisture (30.88±0.44%), ash (7.49±0.28%), crude fat (6.98±0.03%), and carbohydrates (39.65±0.76%), while the stem contained the highest crude fibre (38.68±0.22%) and the leaves had the highest crude protein content (15.52±0.17%). In summary, the study proves that Senna alata contains bioactive compounds which exhibit biological and pharmacological properties. These findings suggest that different parts of Senna alata possess varying nutritional values and potential therapeutic benefits, particularly the leaves, which are rich in protein, and the flowers, which are high in energy sources. The results emphasise the possibility of using Senna alata as a biopesticide to treat ectoparasites infestation in animals, due to the presence of acaricidal chemicals in the plant.