**2.2. Drying and grinding the plant material**

The fruits were collected and sliced into small pieces and distributed evenly for homogeneous drying. They were kept to dry at ambient temperature with adequate ventilation. Dry condition is required to prevent microbial contamination and subsequent degradation of metabolites. These fruits were kept away from direct sunlight to minimize chemical reaction which is caused by ultraviolet rays. After drying the fruits, they were grounded into a fine powder and passed through 60 mm mesh, this is then stored in an air tight container, in a dry and cool place. Grinding the fruits into a fine powder, for the extraction procedure, helps increase the surface area thus making it more homogeneous, and therefore making it easy for the solvent to penetrate the cells.
