Physical Charaterization of Chromatographic Components from the Bioactive Aqueous Fraction of Vernonia Amygdalina [esteraeceae] Leaf

The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize the bioactive saponin from Vernonia amygdalina leaf using its physical and chromatographic properties. Standard procedure of liquid-liquid extraction was employed to isolate crude saponin and column chromatography to obtain fractionate for bio-evaluation. Antipyretic evaluation of the crude saponin and fractionate was carried out using Saccharomyces cerevisiae induced pyrexia. Pure components from fractionate were separated using Reverse-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The physical properties of these components were evaluated according to standard procedures using organoleptic, ignition and solubility tests. Obtained data indicated three pure colored components with retention times 7.78±0.19, 8.76±0.16 and 13.54±0.87 min. Data obtained showed all the components to be aromatic and polar in character. Finding suggests that the bioactive saponin is triterpenoidal.