CHARACTERIZATION OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF MEDICINAL IMPORTANCE IN DIOSPYROS MONTANA ROXB.

Abstract

Plants and their constituents are precious gift of nature to the humans being. They fulfill various routine requirements of human being including the most important health care issues. The aim of the present study is to investigate the bioactive compounds in leaf, stem and seeds of Diospyros montana Roxb. using aqueous, ethanol, acetone and hexane as solvents. A preliminary phytochemical analysis has revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, quinones, steroids and terpenoids in all the prepared extracts. Maximum number of phytochemicals was reported in ethanol leaf extract. The GC-MS analysis of ethanol extract of leaves has yielded 42 bioactive compounds. Out of these, 28 compounds possess a wide range of pharmacological activities. Camphor, (+)-2-bornanone, phytol, acetate, 1-monolinoleoylglycerol trimethylsilyl ether, oxirane, [(hexadecyloxy) methyl]-, oleic acid and 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol are amongst several compounds of medicinal interest. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has provided the information related to the functional groups. The presence of a variety of chemical compounds in this species, particularly in leaves, has supported its use in the traditional health care formulations. The information generated during the present investigation may provide tools for designing new or alternative medicinal products.