Abstract

Mondia whitei fruit is consumed as a wild edible fruit. Gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of dichloromethane/methanol and methanol extracts of the fruit pulp was made to identify the bioactive compounds present. Twenty one compounds were identified from the dichloromethane/methanol extract while twenty eight compounds were identified from the methanol extract. The most abundant compounds from the dichloromethane/methanol extract were 9-octadecenoic acid (Z) -2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester commonly known as glycerol monooleate (GMO) and octadecanoic acid-2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester commonly known as glycerol monostearate (GMS). They had a relative abundance of 40.34% and 13.91% respectively. The most abundant bioactive compounds present in the methanol extract were α1,β2,α3,β-5-cyclohexenetetrol, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose and oleoyl chloride which had relative abundance of 10.70%, 26.10% and 29.62% respectively. Globulol a tricyclic hydroazulene sesquiterpene, γ-Sitosterol a steroid, and n-Heptyl isocyanate a glucosinolate were also found in the methanol extract of Mondia whitei fruit. Compounds common to both methanol and dichloromethane/methanol extracts of Mondia whitei fruit include 2-Decanynoic acid, 2,4,6-cycloheptatriene-1-one-4 methyl, -2,5-dimethyl-4 hydoxy-3-(2H) furanone, 4Hpyran- 4-one -2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl, catechol, 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, hexadecanoic acid-2-hyrooxy-1- (hydroxymethyl) ethyl ester and oleoyl chloride. Results indicated that polarity of the solvents used for extraction influenced the relative abundance and types of compounds extracted. The compounds identified indicated that Mondia whitei fruit can be exploited for its nutritional, therapeutic as well as being an additive in relevant food formulations.

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