Exploring Secondary Metabolites of Hyptis spicigera Using Integrated Chromatography and Spectroscopy

<div> <p><strong><span> </span></strong></p> <p><strong><span>ABSTRACT </span></strong></p> <p><span>It is fashionable to produce insect-resistant plants and use environmentally friendly gardening practices to invite nature into our yards. <em>Hyptis spicigera</em> is a Nigerian medicinal plant (NMP) employed to treat headaches and colds, as well as to repel insects. The current study aims to profile bioactive chemicals present in crude extract and fractions using thin layer chromatography (TLC), UV-Vis, FTIR, and GC-MS spectroscopic methods for analysis. The TLC results indicate that the extract and its fractions contain a mixture of phytochemicals with varying Rf values (0.35, 0.4, 0.43, 0.61, and 0.70). The spectroscopic analysis supports the TLC findings by showing that the composition of the plant's aerial parts includes hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes), phenols, steroids, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, and fatty acids. The plants previously reported to have repellent properties may be attributed to the secondary metabolites; therefore, further research on the isolation of pure compounds and toxicological studies could be beneficial in determining the medicinal properties of the plant.</span></p> <p><strong><span> </span></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Keywords</span></strong><span>: TLC, GC-MS, UV-VIS, FTIR, Extracts and Fractions. </span></p> <p><strong><span> </span></strong></p> </div> <p> </p>