Abstract

"IN VIVO AND IN VITRO BIOCHEMICAL ESTIMATION OF PRIMARY METABOLITES FROM CITRULLUS COLOCYNTHIS (LINN.) SCHRAD: AN IMPORTANT MEDICINAL HERB.

*Mahesh Chand Meena, Rishi Kesh Meena, Rambilas Meena and
Vijay Prakash Meena

ABSTRACT

Citrullus colocynthis is an important medicinal herb belonging to family cucurbitaceae. Plants are efficient chemical factories that produce a wide variety of chemical compounds called phytochemicals. Two types of metabolites are produced from plants i.e. primary metabolites viz., carbohydrates, lipids etc. and secondary metabolites viz., alkaloids, flavonoids, essential oils, sterols, lignin and tannins. In the present set of investigations, biochemical changes of various cellular metabolites/enzymes were observed from in vivo (leaf, stem, fruit and root) and in vitro (callus and differentiating callus) of Citrullus colocynthis. Result showed that the total phenolic contents were maximum in leaf sample and minimum in differentiating callus. Ortho-dihydroxy phenolic contents were maximum in differentiating callus and minimum in leaf. High polyphenol oxidase activity was observed in differentiating callus and minimum in leaf sample.

Keywords: Citrullus colocynthis, Primary metabolites, Phenols, Ortho-dihydroxy, polyphenol oxidase.