Plants have been utilized for medicinal reasons since the dawn of time. Pharmacologists and organic chemists have synthesized a wide range of intriguing chemical compounds from medicinal plants in recent decades, which have shown to be quite useful in the practice of optometry and medicine. There is now an increase in global demand for the use of herbal medicines due to enhanced laboratory research and the pharmacological characteristics of bioactivities from natural sources and their potential to manage various ailments. The discovery of herbal medications created new options for a variety of conventional and alternative remedies. Xylopia aethiopica Linn is one of these extensively used medicinal herbs. This study on the evaluation of bioactive compounds present in the methanolic leaf extract of Xylopia aethiopica Linn was carried out using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometric method of analysis. The result from the analysis revealed some bioactive compounds such as 2-penten-1-ol, (Z)- (1.20%), 10-Octadecenoic acid (0.99%), Phytol (7.57%), Methyl Stearate (0.84%), 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (17.58%), Cis-Vaccenic acid (1.15%), 1-trimethylsilyl-2-ethene (1.00%), 7-nonenamide (1.45%), 12-methyl-E, E-2,13-Octadecadien-1-ol (1.43%), Glycerol-1-Palmitate (1.21%), D-Xylulose, tetrakis (trimethylsilyl) (1.23%), 19,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z)- (6.67%), Trans-Farnesol (6.09%), 4-Hydroxybenzoxazolone (0.88%), Mercaptoacetic acid, 2TMS derivative (3.19%), 1,2-15,16-Diepoxyhexadecane (1.22%), Cholesta-6,22,24-triene, 4,4-dimethyl (4.29%), and DL-alpha-Tocopherol (1.18%). Some of these compounds identified have shown great antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial and antidiabetic activities. This is a prove that scientists and pharmacists can exploit this plant for medicinal purposes.
