Study of Toxin ‘Ricinine’ present in Ricinus communis by TLC and GC-MS A Forensic Perspective

Abstract

Ricinus communis popularly known as castor plant belongs to the family of Euphorbiaceae. The whole plant had a great potential of being used in bio terrorism all around the world. In the view of forensic investigations, the plant contains an active principle component ‘ricin’ which is highly toxic to people, animals and insects frequently encountered in cases such as suicidal, accidental and homicidal deaths. In the present study, fresh leaves extract of the plant was used for phytochemical screening of the alkaloids in both methanol and n-hexane solvents. The result showed the presence of alkaloids such as steroids, saponins, tannins, glycosides, and Flavonoids. Thin layer chromatography was performed for preliminary examination of the main toxins using the solvent system (petroleum ether, diethyl ether and acetic acid in 80:18:2 v/v/v ratio). The poly complex structured compounds of the leaf extract were analyzed by using GC-MS. The chromatogram obtained revealed the presence of ricinine, heptadecane, octadecane, Pentadecane, 2,6,10-trimethyl, sulfurous acid, pentyl tetradecyl ester, hexadecane, 3-pyridinecarbonitrile, 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl, octadecane, 2-methyl, nonadecane, 9-methyl, phthalic acid, di(6-methylhept-2-yl) ester, 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, mono(2-ethylhexyl) ester, 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis-(3,5,5-trimethylhexyl) phthalate in the leaf extract of Ricinus communis.