Phytochemical analysis was conducted on the leaves of Cissus populnea Guill. & Perr., a plant belonging to the family- Vitaceae/Ampelidaceae. The leaves were collected from New Bussa, Niger State, Northern Nigeria, air-dried and ground into fine powder. The powdered leaves were screened and results were properly recorded as observed. Results showed that the saponin content was the highest with about 47.3%. This is followed by anthraquinones – 33.2% and flavonoid – 6.48%. Although, results also showed that the cyanogenic glycoside content (3.65%) is indicative of its poisonous property as the human body may not withstand this large amount at a time, the small quantity of alkaloid – 2.49% (0.15±0.07mg/g) also suggests that it may be harmless in some ways. This study, however, supports the fact that leaves of C. populnea contain important compounds which may be useful in medicine, it also suggests that further research should be conducted into the plant as a whole, since some of the phytochemicals may be very dangerous to the human body whether consumed as vegetable or used as medicine.
