Hormonal Profiling in Ungerminated and Germinated Seeds of African Yam Bean ( Sphenostylis stenocarpa   (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Harms)

Hormonal profiles of ungerminated and germinated seeds of Sphenostylis stenocarpa were studied. The hormone gibberellin (GA) was extracted with 80% methanol. The hormone was purified with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) column chromatography and quantified with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). High performance liquid chromatography analysis identified five endogenous gibberellins GA₁, GA₃, GA₄, GA₇ and GA₂₀. Quantification of gibberellin in ng/g (dw) for ungerminated and germinated seeds showed that GA₁ was highest in quantity than GA₃, GA₄, GA₇ and GA₂₀ in all the fractions in ungerminated seed while GA₃ was highest in quantity in germinated seed than GA₁, GA₄, GA₇ and GA₂₀. This study suggests that hormone extracted from ungerminated and germinated seeds of S. stenocarpa could be a source of phytohormones for research and agricultural purposes.