Abstract

Plants are known for their nutritional and ethnomedicinal values, hence the increasing need to search for plants with medicinal properties as food sources. This study analyzed the proximate parameters of the powdered Cymbopogon citratus rhizome as well as the chemical constituents of its ethyl acetate extract using Association of Official Analytical Chemists and National Institute of Standards and Technology methods respectively. Result obtained showed an oily orange-brown coloured ethyl acetate extract with a yield of 11.11 %. Proximate studies revealed the presence of carbohydrate (63.11 %) and crude protein (13.26 %). Data obtained by GC-MS analysis showed the presence of 20 constituents with 3 major peaks which includes; naphthalene (43.53 %), di-epi-alpha-cedrene (17.86 %), and 6-tetramethylnaphthalene (13.50 %). The rhizomes of Cymbopogon citratus contained high nutritional value with chemical constituents that have been documented to possess antimicrobial activity. Thus establishing the scientific basis for the traditional use of Cymbopogon citratus as a source of food for humans and livestock with potential for the isolation of novel antimicrobial molecule.

Keywords: Cymbopogon citratus, proximate, GC-MS constituents, extract, rhizome