Extraction, Qualitative and Quantitative Determination of Secondary Metabolites of Aerial Parts of Clematis heynei and Solanum virginianum

Abstract

The increasing interest in powerful biological activity of secondary metabolites outlined the necessity of determining their contents in medicinal plants. In the last few years, there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal medicine and gaining popularity both in developing and developed countries because of their natural origin and less side effects. Clematis heynei (C. heynei, Ranunculaceae) is commonly known as Deccan clematis, Murhar, Morvel, Ranjaee and it is a somewhat woody climber very sparsely distributed in deciduous forests of Western Ghats, India. In the Indian system of medicine ‘Ayurveda’ this plant is used to eliminate malarial fever and headache. Different plant parts were used for treating various diseases. Solanum virginianum L. (S. virginianum, Solanaceae, Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. & H. Wendl.) is a diffuse and very prickly under shrub. It is found growing commonly in various regions of the world on sandy soils and is distributed throughout India. The plant is used traditionally to treat asthma, chest pain, leucoderma, scorpion bite, and sterility in women. The aim of the present study is to examine C. heynei and S. virginianum aerial parts of plant for phytochemical profile. Qualitative analysis of various phytochemical constituents and quantitative analysis of total phenolics and flavonoids were determined by the well-known test protocol available in the literature. Quantitative analysis of phenolic and flavonoids was carried out by Folins Ciocalteau reagent method and aluminium chloride method respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, fixed oil and fats. The total phenolics content of methanolic and aqueous extract of C. heynei was (0.592, 0.292 mg/100mg), followed by flavonoids (1.371, 0.723mg/100mg) respectively. The total phenolics content of methanolic extract of S. virginianum was (0.345mg/100mg), followed by flavonoids (0.978mg/100mg). The present study concluded that the crude extract of C. heynei and S. virginianum is a rich source of secondary phytoconstituents which impart significant antioxidant potential. The findings of the present study will be helpful to phytochemists, pharmacologists and pharmaceutical industries.