Abstract
Newbouldia laevis is a medium-sized angiosperm in the Bignoniaceae family that thrives throughout Tropical Africa, from Guinea Savannahs to deep woods. Patients of elephantiasis, dysentery, rheumatic swellings, syphilis, constipation, and pile have all been shown to benefit from the plant in Nigeria. This study determined the genetic diversity of 50 Newbouldia laevis samples taken from Lagos State (as coded) – Alagbado (ALA), Ikorodu (IKD), Lagos Mainland (MLD), and Mushin (MUS) Local Government Areas, as well as Okitipupa Local Government Area, Ondo State (OND). DNA extraction and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with 5 Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers (OPAG 20, OPB 08, OPC 04, OPC 06 and OPAF 20) were employed in the molecular analysis. Using the NTsys (2.0j) computer application, the RAPD-PCR gel profiles were scored to construct the dendrogram. The result showed full clustering at around 57% and a similarity index of about 68%. RAPD markers were shown to be beneficial in defining the level of genetic variation in Newbouldia laevis in this study.