Nutritive value, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Struchium sparganophora leaves

Struchium sparganophora leaf is a green leafy vegetable popularly used in soup preparations in processed and unprocessed forms in Nigeria. Fresh leaves of S. sparganophora were soaked overnight to remove its bitterness, before determination of the nutrient and antinutrient content, while sun-dried S. sparganophora leaves were extracted with rectified spirit. The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the extracts were subsequently determined. The result of the study revealed that the fresh leaf has high nutrient (protein, fat, crude fiber, and mineral) but low antinutrient (tannin and phytate) content. However, processing of the S. sparganophora leaf caused a significant decrease (P < .05) in both the nutrient and antinutrient contents. The ethanolic extract of the leaf contains alkaloids, tannin, saponins, phlobatannin, anthraquinone, and glycosides; furthermore, the extract has high antioxidant activity as typified by its high total phenol (5.4 g/100 g) content, reducing power (2.50 OD(700)), and free radical scavenging ability (65.2%). In addition, the extract (1.0 mg/mL) inhibited the growth of some pathogenic bacteria [Shigella dysenteriae (zone of inhibition 17.0 mm), Staphylococcus aureus (11.0 mm)] and fungi [Candida albicans (18.0 mm), Penicillium sp. (14.0 mm), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (15.0 mm)]. The inhibition of the bacterial and fungal growth was dose dependent. However, the same concentration of the extract did not inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli, Proteus sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella sp., as well as the growth of the following fungi: Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium solani, and Aspergillus flavus. It could therefore be inferred that the leaf of S. sparganophora is promising both nutritionally and medicinally because of its high nutrient content, low antinutrient content, and arrays of pharmaceutically active phytochemicals with high levels of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.