Abstract

Gordian C. Obute,Benjamin C. Ndukwu and B.E. Okoli

The genus Solanum L belongs to the family Solanaceae in the order Sonales. It is one plant genus of great importance for food security in most countries of the developing world. Some of its members are cultivated mostly as vegetable crops (Kochlar, 1981), while the active principles such as solinidine and other steroids extracted from the roots and leaves of some species are useful pharmaceuticals (Simmonds and Choudhury, 1976). Purseglove (1968) noted that many Solanum species are used as potherbs or ornamentals in the tropics. However the lack of immediate known utilities for some members of this group has led to their neglect and subsequent genetic erosion