PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND GC-MS ANALYSES OF A SUBFRACTION OF 70% ETHANOL EXTRACT OF Tamarindus indica (Linn.) Leaf.

Abstract

This research is geared towards the identification of bioactive compounds in the leaves of Tamarindus indica. The leaves of Tamarindus indica was harvested from the wild and macerated at ambient temperature using 70% ethanol-30% distilled water to obtain a dark coloured extract. The phytochemical screening of the concentrated macerate showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, terpenes and terpenoids and the absence of reducing sugars. The GC-MS analyses of the Z2 fraction obtained from column chromatography of the crude 70% ethanol extract led to the identification of 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (6.68%) and this compound has anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic activities. Hexadecanoic acid (6.26%, palmitic acid) has antioxidant, antimicrobial and larvicidal effect. Vitamin E (8.62%) was also identified, and vitamin E is an antioxidant. The presence of 3-O-methylsugars (Peaks 7, 8, 9 and 10) were identified. These sugars were tentatively identified as 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (4.89%), 3-O-methylxylose (4.95%), 3-O-methylgalactose (5.208%) and 3-O-methylmannose (5.281%). These methylated sugars are usually employed as biomarkers of sugar metabolism. The leaves were found to contain benzenoid aromatic compounds; p-xylene (1.49%), 1-ethyl- 3-methylbenzene (2.049%) and benzoic acid (2.979%). The FTIR results showed the presence of the corresponding functional groups (-OH at 3300 cm-1 for alcohols and fatty acids: 2900- 2700 cm-1 for C-H stretching vibrations and carbonyl absorption band at 1752 cm-1 for ketones, esters, fatty acids and amides). Tamarindus indica leaf is found to contain several phytocompounds with a broad range of pharmacological activities.