Dataset on phytochemical screening, FTIR and GC–MS characterisation of Azadirachta indica and Cymbopogon citratus as reducing and stabilising agents for nanoparticles synthesis

The dataset for this article contains phytochemical and FTIR data for three different extracts from two indigenous medicinal plants obtained from Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria and the GC–MS characterisation data for their ethanolic extracts. To obtain this data, the leaves of Azadirachta indica and Cymbopogon citratus were collected from the premises of Covenant University, Nigeria. The plants were dried, pulverized and extracted with ethanol, distilled water and ethanol:water (50:50), before phytochemical screening (qualitative and quantitative), FTIR and GC–MS analyses were carried out. The dataset provides insight into the presence of bioactive phyto-constituents such as polyphenols and tannins as potential precursors for green-based nanoparticle synthesis.


Subject area
Chemistry, Biology More specific subject area

Analytical Chemistry, Phytochemistry and Nanotechnology
Type of data

Value of the data
The dataset provides insight into the exact phyto-constituents, which are responsible for stabilization and reduction of metal ions during nanoparticles formation, thereby aiding proposition of mechanistic pathways for these reactions.
The data provides information on the most potent of the locally selected plants for biosynthesis of nanoparticles using readily available indigenous plants in Southwest Nigeria.
The methods used can be extended to other indigenous plants, forming a large database capable of informing researchers on the active plant(s) for nanoparticle synthesis.
The dataset can be used for educational purposes, drug synthesis and multidisciplinary research.
Similar data articles can be found in [1,2].

Data
The dataset on phytochemical screening of three extracts of Azadirachta indica and Cymbopogon citratus is presented in Table 1. FTIR spectra and data of different crude extracts of each plant are presented in Figs. 1 and 2 and Table 2

Sample collection
Fresh leaves of two (2) indigenous plants namely Cymbopogon citratus and Azadirachta indica were collected in March 2018 from Covenant University, Nigeria. The leaf samples were thoroughly washed in distilled water before air-drying at room temperature for 21 days. Dried leaves were then pulverized and preserved in airtight containers until further use.

Sample preparation and characterisation
For phytochemical screening, 25 g of pulverized plant leaves was extracted with 125 mL of three solvents namely; ethanol, distilled water and ethanol/water (1:1) for 72 h. The plant extracts were filtered and concentrated using rotary evaporator under reduced pressure. Preliminary phytochemical analysis was carried out to test for the presence of tannins, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthocyanins, betacyanins, quinones, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, triterpenoids, phenols, coumarins, steroids and acids in all the three extracts following the standard test methods [3,4].
Also, 10 g of each powdered plant material was extracted with ethanol, distilled water and ethanol/ distilled water (1:1), respectively, for 72 h. The extracts were filtered and concentrated to 1 mL using BUCHI rotary evaporator under reduced pressure. Then, 1 mL of crude ethanolic, water and ethanol/ water extracts were taken for FTIR analysis, while 1 mL ethanolic extracts were taken in amber GC vials for GC-MS analysis.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis
The extracts were analysed using Agilent Cary 630 FTIR spectrometer equipped with Microlab PC software with ATR sampling unit with a resolution of 8 cm À 1 and scan range of 4000 cm À 1 to 650 cm À 1 .

Gas chromatography mass spectroscopy analysis
The GC-MS analysis was carried out using Agilent 7890 A gas chromatograph coupled with a 5977 A mass spectrometer. The temperature programme of the GC was maintained at an initial temperature of 50°C with a hold for 1 min, followed by gradual increase to 300°C at 7°C/min for 14 min. 1 mL of each sample was injected in the split mode (split ratio 1:10). The identification of components was based on retention time on the capillary column and matching the GC mass spectra with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library.

Transparency document. Supporting information
Transparency data associated with this article can be found in the online version at https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.dib.2018.08.133.