Phytochemical profile of selected Philippine plants used to treat asthma

Phytochemical analyses were carried out to determine the similarities of the plant metabolites present in the various plants used traditionally for the alleviation of asthma. Plants were collected from the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. The dried samples were homogenized for overnight soaking in methanol at room temperature. The resulting alcoholic extracts were filtered and concentrated in vacuo and tested for their various metabolites. Saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides were commonly found in the various plant samples and to some extent, the anti-asthma activity of the plants could be attributed to these types of secondary metabolites.