Vol. 1, Issue 1, Part A (2019)

Brassica juncea (brown mustard) seed is an economically important plant that has been well-known in many countries for centuries for its medicinal and nutritive values. Mustard seeds are used in various traditional remedies to stimulate appetite and as a laxative, expectorant and antiseptic agent for treatment of various gastrointestinal, respiratory and skin diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine the ethno pharmacologically active components of brown mustard seeds by performing qualitative and quantitative phytochemical, proximate and mineral analysis using the standard method of Association of Analytical Chemist (AOAC) and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric (AAS) method. The results show that qualitative phytochemicals present are: tannin, terpenoid, saponin, flavonoid, alkaloid, phenols and cardiac glycoside. Quantitatively, tannin content was (7.75 ± 0.06%), Terpenoid (5.40±0.02), Saponin (4.25 ± 0.01%), alkaloids (2.25 ± 0.01%), Flavonoid (2.48 ± 0.02%) and Phenols (0.12± 0.02). Proximate results show ash (0.23%), moisture (1.26%), crude fibre (1.80%), crude protein (2.58%) crude lipid (3.85%), Dry matter (98.74 ± 0.03) and Nitrogen free element (91.87±0.57). Mineral contents shows the presences of Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn) and Copper (Cu). This available preclinical information strongly suggests that B. juncea could be a sustainable source of affordable drugs which is potentially a good source for obtaining pharmacologically standardized phytotherapeutics.