"Polyphenols determination in leaves of different populations of Milicia excelsa (Welw.) C.C.Berg".

Milicia excelsa (Welw.) C.C. Berg is an important species for timber production and refor- estation purposes in west Africa. Polyphenols, as secondary compounds, are found in both conifers and broadleaves and the concentrations of these substances vary among populations, families and clones. Phenolics are involved in the defence chemistry of the plants and these compounds can affect the sucepti- bility of the tree to the attack of insects and fungi. The purpose of this preliminary phytochemical investigation on fresh leaves, was to determine the geographic variability of different populations of M. excelsa. Leaves were collected from seedlings that represent three characteristic natural areas in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire. A preliminary screening was carried out by High Per- formance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HP-TLC) analysis. This methodology allowed to easily compare the polyphenolic content of total raw extract of the leaves. The chemical structure of the main compounds was detected by means of High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Diode Array Detector (HPLC/DAD) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (HPLC/MS). Our preliminary results show that the phenolic composition varied between the provenances and that phenolic markers could be an useful tool for selection of ecophysiologically adapted indigenous genotypes for sustainable timber production.